The Believers Pray

On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

“Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one.

Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.  They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. Acts 4:23-31

We can learn a lot from the way the believers prayed. First they praised God; then they told God their specific problem and asked for His help. They did not ask God to remove the problem, but to help them deal with it. How do you pray when you have a problem, do you ask God to remove the negative situation? I know I do. It’s important to recognize that often God will leave the problem in place and give us the strength and courage to deal with it. (This is an ah-ha moment for me, for sure this week!)

Perhaps our prayers should change. Maybe we should pray for wisdom, courage, and strength to deal with these problems. I’m always asking God to move the mountains but never praying for the climbing gear to tackle the mountain with His help. When we look at verse 31, it talks about the believers speaking the word of God boldly. To gain boldness we need to pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to give us courage. There are always areas that God is leading us to that we may not feel comfortable stepping in, but sometimes He calls us to unchartered waters. This week let’s pray for courage, boldness, and faith!

Prayer

Sovereign Lord, we come to You today filled with our list of fears, doubts, disappointments, and mountains. We pray God that you will give us the courage, boldness, and faith we need to conquer these challenges with YOUR help. Grant us wisdom as we are dealing with these issues that if You do not remove them, You will help us walk through them. Please remind us though, that you are with us every step of the way. Amen.