Acts 4:29-31 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
One of the descriptive phrases of the early church is "filled with the Holy Spirit." Rather than being a frenzy into which these believers worked themselves, this is a characteristic that appeared as a result of a specific prayer. They asked for boldness in proclaiming Christ. This would only come and be effective through the power of the Holy Spirit. To be sure, this was not the only prayer request the church had, but it is representative in many ways: it was unselfish - focused not on their desires, but on the commandment Christ had given to go and tell; it demanded trust - that God knows what is best, and that He would provide for and protect them when they did go and tell; it was open - they did not tell God who, when, and where, but allowed Him to lead them in His time and His way. It was a great starting point. What if we started today with that one simple prayer: "Lord, give me boldness to live and speak the Gospel today. I'll trust you for the rest."
No comments:
Post a Comment