Acts 4:29 “And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word.”
Two Ways to Pray
There are two ways you can pray today. You can pray that God will diminish your problems to match your strength; or you can pray that God will increase your strength to match your problems. Both may be valid requests, but when our problems are diminished, we are relieved. When God increases our strength, God is glorified.
Acts chapter 4 is full of problems and potential. The devil created problems, but the apostles saw potential based on God’s power, not their own. For instance, Peter’s message to the council after healing a lame man made the religious leaders marvel at both the boldness and simplicity of Peter and John. The religious leaders “took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”
If something big and great happens to through you today, will people marvel? Is your greatness because of the grace that only God can give, or is it self-promoted and self-satisfying? Better yet, how will you respond when troubles come? Will you look to lower your problems or raise your strength?
The apostles prayed for boldness to speak God’s Word in the face of threats and persecution. They didn’t pray for an absence of danger; they prayed for the presence of Christ. Can you guess what happened? “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.”
The culture wasn’t Christian. The government wasn’t kind. The crowds weren’t yelling, “Amen!” to their message. The apostles of Acts 4 were living in an extremely hostile world, but the world was no match for the risen Christ and the people who spoke of Him. Christ is alive today, and His power is just as great today. How will you pray and live today?