Peter and John were arrested after healing the lame man, were brought before the Sanhedrin, and then finally were released.  Then Peter and John went to the Christians and told them everything that had happened.  In verse 24 we are told that the Christians who heard the report prayed.  They didn’t speak comforting words to Peter and John or talk about what they should do, they just began praying.  Today let’s look at their prayer.  We have already seen the early church praying many times, but this is the first time that their prayer is clearly written so today let’s look at how they prayed. 

I.                A prayer that recognizes the sovereignty of God. (vs. 24)

First, they prayed to God, “Sovereign Lord”.  After calling God the “Sovereign Lord” they prayed, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.” They are affirming in prayer that the God we believe in made heaven and earth and all that is in it, controls and directs human history, and in the same way today He continues to control all things.

In verse 29 they prayed, “Now, Lord, consider their threats”.  They were threatened. They had been threatened by the Sanhedrin so the most important thing that they needed to do was not to look at the threats, but to look at the “Sovereign Lord” who controls all things.  In the midst of the threats they needed to believe that the Lord who controls them has complete control over all things and is even in control of the things that have just happened.  By having that faith the early church was able to preach boldly the word of God.

Matt. 10:28-31

When we look at our circumstances, we have many fears and concerns.  Thus we can’t preach the Gospel boldly. Therefore, it is important that we don’t look at our circumstances, but look at God and who He is. We shouldn’t look at our problems, but at how great God is. The God that we believe in is the creator of all heaven and earth. We need to remember that He controls all and we will be able to overcome all circumstances.

Phil. 4:13 We need to believe this verse.  Like the early church when we have problems we need to keep our eyes focused on God who made heaven and earth and who controls all things, and pray.

 

II.              A prayer that has assurance of the Lord’s will  (vs. 25-28)

Secondly they believed that even this situation was in the Lord’s hand. In these verses the church is praying Psalms 2. They are praying this Psalm because through this Psalm they were able to see the purpose of the persecution that were facing.  In other words, they realized that the persecution that they were facing was not just by coincidence, but had been prophesized from the time of the Old Testament.  That prophecy was this Psalm. This prophecy was fulfilled explicitly in the cross. (vs. 27)  The cross was decided by God from the beginning of time. 

Thus persecution is natural for those who follow Christ and preach Christ’s cross.

John 15:18-20

Therefore, the early church did not pray for the Lord to stop the persecution or to not allow the persecution.  Instead they prayed, “consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your work with great boldness.” (vs. 29) They prayed like this because through the Bible they had received assurance that the persecution that they were experiencing was in the plans of God.

This is important not just in persecution, by throughout our lives.  In our life unexpectantly many things happen that make us feel like our life is falling apart: sickness, accidents, our company goes bankrupt, lost a job, death, etc.  There are 3 main ways to face such problems.

1.               Look at the problem and suffer the rest of your life. 

2.               Try to avoid looking at the problem.  Don’t think about the problem. This is called “running away from the problem.

3.               Look at the problem and through the problem see a new world that you would never have seen if there had never been a problem.  This is the way of those who realize that God’s hands are in all things.

In our life many things happen.  However in each problem we need to see God’s hand in it and find the meaning of it. This is how the early church was.  They saw the meaning of their persecution and threats through the Bible.  Then their persecution wasn’t just something that causes them to suffer, but something that was the will of God who promised from the Old Testament times that those who love Him will have. Therefore, they were able proclaim the Word of God boldly.

III.            A prayer of the assurance of commission (vs. 29-30)

Here they are praying for 2 things. 

1.               For God to look upon their threats.  In their persecution and threats they want God who has a plan and who knows the meaning of what is happening to look upon their persecution.  If God looks upon their persecution then they are satisfied. That is all they need.

2.               “enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (vs. 29) This persecution started because Peter and John healed the lame man.  Even so the early church prayed that God will “perform miraculous signs and wonders” and heal even though that might cause them to continue to be persecuted. 

They were able to pray this way because they realized what their commission was.  Rather than a safe and peaceful life, they wanted to fulfill their commission.  Their only hope was to witness to God’s Word. Jesus was the same.  No matter how much he was persecuted, he continued to preach the Word God.  This is because Jesus felt it was for this reason that he was sent.

Luke 4:43

Jesus knew why he came to this world.  It was to spread the news of God’s kingdom. Jesus wants us to do the same.

Matt. 28:19-20

This is the Lord’s will so they prayed that they would be able to boldly proclaim the Gospel.

When they prayed, the place where they were praying was shaken and everyone was filled with the Holy Spirit.  They proclaimed the Word of God boldly.  This showed the presence of Christ.  They were able to proclaim the Word of God boldly in the face of persecution because they had prayed, and were filled with the Holy Spirit.  In order to boldly proclaim the Gospel we need to pray and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

The early church prayed recognizing the sovereignty of God who controls all things, and works through History.  Not only that, but they realized that the persecution and threats that they were experiencing was within the deep plans of God.  They believed that all things were happening within the will of God. Therefore, all we need to do is proclaim boldly the word of God.  This is the will of God.  We are commissioned to do so.  If we pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit, God will be with us and fill us with His Spirit.  This is the kind of prayer we need to pray. Even if we are under persecution, we need to pray that we can boldly proclaim the Word of God and that God’s glory will be shown.

II Cor. 3:8-10