"Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness." - Acts 4:29
This is the kind of heart that I think we need more of in our church. The amazing thing about the disciples' prayer is that while they acknowledge the circumstances they are in, they never ask God to remove the challenges that they faced. All they ask for is "great boldness" in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I'm challenged by this in my own prayers; am I just praying for relief from the struggles I face each day, or am I asking for the power to overcome them? A question came to my mind: what would glorify God more, if His children faced no problems at all in this life, or if they were consistently able to overcome against incredible odds? It seems like the answer is pretty clear, and God gave us passages like this to show how He empowers His people to do extraordinary things.
One other thing I noticed here was God's immediate answer to the believers' prayer. It made me wonder if my prayers often go unanswered because I am not praying the things that are on God's heart (although there could be many other reasons for God not to immediately answer prayer, as well). However, when His people pray for boldness to share the gospel, how could He not answer right away? We need to know God's heart more in order to pray for, and then receive, the Hoy Spirit's power in our lives.
Lastly, we see another glimpse of the early church community at the end of this passage. It seems that one of its strongest distinctive marks was the generosity of the people. This was the fruit of the Spirit's work in their lives, and I believe that as we grow more and experience God each day we will demonstrate this kind of generosity towards one another and the work God has called us to do.
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