The Book of Acts

The Believers Pray for Courage

Acts 4:23-31 _NLT

“As soon as they were freed, Peter & John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said.”- Acts 4:23

            Here we have an interesting block of scriptures where we find Peter & John returning to the group of believers in Jerusalem. Their number had expanded to 5,000 men, excluding women and children [Acts 4:4), so we can assume that we’re now talking about a group that is something over 10,000 and that is only after two messages from Peter. Once the apostles had told the group what the priests and elders had told them, they all proceeded to praise God and pray.

            Their prayers followed an interesting pattern, one we should follow today. They first praised and worship God, then they told God what their problem was, finally instead of asking him to remove their problem, they asked for “great boldness” to continue preaching in Jesus’ name. They also asked that miraculous signs and wonders take place, also in the name of Jesus. You see, Jesus is the source, and the Holy Spirit is the vehicle by which divine power is administered thru the conduits, namely, the apostles and their followers.

            As a means of confirming that their prayers had been heard, the meeting place shook and the Spirit fell upon all who were present. It needs to be understood that God does what is his will and his power brings his will to fruition. We must allow this next statement to burn into our minds: No leader, no army, no government, or no legislative body can stand in God’s way. They couldn’t back then, and they cannot now. God ceases to be God if that statement were not true. So when you pray, praise, and bless his name, reveal the problem or issue (even though he is already aware of it), and then ask for whatever it takes to go thru this situation. We grow from such times. We learn nothing we it is simply removed. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In his name & for his glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.