BELIEVERS UNITE IN PRAYER TO GOD
Acts 4:23-33 - April 21, 2002
23On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25You 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? 26The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.
27Indeed 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. 28They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
31After 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.
32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.
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Dearest Fellow-Redeemed and Saints in the Lord:
Once again we hear about the New Testament believers as the church is just beginning. Maybe from the last week and the week before and this week, we notice how closely united the believers are to-gether. Near the end of our text it says, "All the believers were one in heart and mind." We may ask our-selves, "Why is this? Why was there such a closeness of those first believers?" Simply put, it was be-cause they believed in one God. They didn’t trust anymore in the regulations and the rules and the laws put together by the Scribes and Pharisees. Instead, they looked to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came and lived and was put to death and rose again as their only Savior. As they looked at Jesus as their only Savior, they also looked at the one Triune God, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Because they put their trust and confidence in one God, they believed the very same thing. They were very closely knit. They were united together in their faith. As we hear today, they were also united together in prayer.
That point is important for us as believers who unite together in prayer. It is important that we are reminded that we pray to God, not a false god, but the Triune God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Lord reminds us of the seriousness that He considers His Name. He says: "I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols"(ISAIAH 42:8). So we look at that fact, that be-lievers unite together in prayer to God, not Allah, not Buddha, not some other false god, not some idol, but to God Almighty Maker of heaven and earth. As the Lord reveals to us more about His text this morning, we want to think about that theme, BELIEVERS UNITE IN PRAYER TO GOD I. In prayer to God with praises and II. In prayer to God with all boldness.
We are reminded once again of the setting of our text that in the past two weeks has been the same setting. Peter healed a crippled beggar and was put into prison. Then Peter was brought before the Jew-ish council to defend himself and was released. So our text begins, "On their release Peter and John went back to their own people, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them." They came back to the people who were gathered at their meeting place, and they told them that they were set free. Certainly, they rejoiced about that; but then they told them the conditions of their release. Really, there was only one condition: that they would no longer speak or teach about that Man, Jesus Christ. Then leaders said, "Peter and John, you can go if you promise not to speak any more of His Name.
That seems as if that would put an end to the spread of Christianity, wouldn’t it? We could almost expect the believers to throw up their hands in despair and wonder what they were to do next. What does our text tell us? "When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God." Even though their own government had threatened them by saying, "If you teach anymore in Jesus’ Name, you will be put into prison." Yet they raised their voices to God. He was their authority; He was their true leader. They said, "Sovereign Lord, you made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them." They realized that the leaders of the day, the ruling authorities, could make rules and regulations. They could pass judgments. In the end it was the Lord God, the Sovereign Lord who made the heaven, the earth, the sea and all that was in them. He was in control.
As they prayed to God they realized what David, their forefather, had written down in Psalm 2: "Why did the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His Anointed One." Then in the next few verses, it says, "Then the Lord scoffs at them." So it was here that the leaders and authorities sat there, and Peter and John came before them. They said, "Alright, you are free to go. Don’t talk about Jesus," and the Lord scoffs at them.
They plot in vain against what the Almighty has in store for His church and even in store for the history of the world. These people realized what happened; they realized as the leaders plotted and planned together, they even put Jesus to death. Our text says, "Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met to-gether with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your Holy Servant Jesus, whom you anointed." So Herod figured he had gotten his way. The Jewish people felt they finally saw justice done when they had Jesus crucified. What did these believers realize? These believers realized as they said, "They did (Pontius Pilate and Herod) what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen." Even though Pilate, Herod and the crowd all thought they were in control, it was what God had decided beforehand that His Son would come to this earth and His Son would be put to death. Even though man was carrying out what he thought was his own will, they were doing what God’s will wanted done in the end.
Isn’t that the lesson the Lord would want us to realize today? Sometimes we are very self-willed in our living. We know all of the things that are just right for us, and we feel we know how we should take care of ourselves. Sometimes we pray kind of greedily and selfishly for ourselves, not looking be-yond our own household. Yet, the Lord reminds us that we ought to look what His will is. Here, the gov-ernment told the people they couldn’t preach God’s Word. They couldn’t teach God’s Word. They weren’t supposed to speak it anymore. But they still did, and they came to God with praises. We heard in our reading about Stephen that at the very end of his life how he still witnessed to the truth--knowing that it wasn’t his will to be put to death. It wasn’t his desire; and yet, deep down he probably understood that this was God’s will, that He had all things in control. We learn that from Stephen. We learn that from Jesus Himself who as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane for the Lord to strengthen Him. He prayed, "’Abba, Father,’ he said, ’everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will’"(MARK 14:36).
We have these examples that we might learn in our prayers as we come before God, our God, with praises. We need to come praying that His will be done. We need to come with praises praying that we wouldn?t look only to our will and understanding, but help us understand what the will of God is for us. The Psalm writer says, "Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground"(PSALM 143:10). We need to pray the same, "Lord teach me your will; and that if it’s your will that I be blessed and walk on level ground, then so be it. If not, teach me also that in our troubles, in our tribulations, in our heartaches and sorrows and difficulties and struggles in this life, this too is God’s will."
We know that it is not always easy and it’s not always maybe sometimes pleasant for us to face the heartaches and troubles of this life. We realize also that they are there to strengthen our faith. They are there as part of God’s will for us. Paul writes to the Romans, "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our suf-ferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope"(ROMANS 5:3,4). Yes, even though it may not seem pleasant, our sufferings (what we would call "sufferings" but what the Lord would call His will) provide us with perseverance, character and hope. Who among us wouldn’t want to be blessed in that way with more character and hope?
Yes, we learned today that believers are united in prayer to God. We unite together in the Chris-tian faith too with prayer to God, with praises for the fact that His will is done in spite of our own will. We also pray too II. with all boldness.
As these believers were gathered together and Peter and John came to them, they understood the message they had to bring. They understood that God was in control. That did not mean that they were not unconcerned. They were concerned of how they would be received now and looked at in the govern-ment. They prayed for boldness. We read in verse 29: ?Now Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak Your Word with great boldness." They were told not to speak the Word, not to preach the Word, not to teach the Word; but they asked the Lord, "Lord, You know what is happening. Help us to be bold in our teaching and preaching." They knew it would take the Lord’s help to do such great things.
They even ask for more. They said, "Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the Name of Your Holy Servant Jesus." Remember that the condition they had to follow was not to talk about the Name of Jesus. Now in spite of that, the believers come in the Name of the Lord and say, "Help us to show them the power that the Name of Jesus has to the people around us, not the power that we have, but the power that just speaking His Name can heal and do miraculous signs and wonders." We know that in the early church that happened.
So even though the government said they didn’t want to hear about this Name of Jesus, the early believers still spread that Name of Jesus. The crowds wanted to hear the Name of Jesus because of its great power and because of its saving power. Then we are given one of the very few instances in Scrip-ture where He gives them a sign that their prayers were heard. "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken" as if God was saying, "Yes, I heard you, and I am going to answer you." He answers them, we are told, right in the same verse: "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God boldly." This was exactly what they had asked, "Lord, help us to be bold in our procla-mation of Jesus’ Name;" and they were.
Then were are given that description of their unity, "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that his possessions were his own, but they shared everything they had." Again, because of their united faith in the one true God and their united faith in Jesus, they felt a very close fellowship. They realized that God had helped them. As God Himself had helped them, there was no other reason for them in life except to help one another. So they shared everything they had, and then the Lord blessed them with great power. "The Apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and much grace was upon them all." They asked for boldness; and God gave it; and they used that boldness to pro-claim God’s Name and God’s grace was with them.
What an example for us again to follow! These believers could have said, "Well, the government says we are not to preach anymore, can’t talk about Jesus, let’s pack our bags and go home." They came and prayed to the Lord with praises, and they came confident before God’s throne of grace for boldness. The Lord says for us to do the same. Oh true, we come in humility realizing that we are talking to the Lord God Almighty, the One who did create the heavens and the earth and keeps it under His divine providence. Yet, it doesn’t mean as we come in humility before the Lord, that we come as people who are scared or terrified what the Lord might think or say or do. Rather we come with all boldness and confi-dence because of what the Lord will think and say and do. He promises to hear and to answer and provide. In the Book of Hebrews were are told: "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need"(HEBREWS 4:16). Yes, when we are at our lowest, we dare never think that God has forsaken us. Instead we would come to Him and be-fore Him at His throne of grace to receive mercy. Then He says, "help in time of our need" also.
He tells us to come time and again. He gives us that (if you want to call it that) magic formula for prayer, even though it’s not so magic but simple: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened" (MATTHEW 7:7,8). The Lord invites us to come boldly and to come before Him to ask for boldness just like these early believers.
Probably, one of the biggest shortcomings of our prayers is that very often we come before the Lord and think mainly about ourselves, those around us. The Lord says to look beyond the walls of the house, look beyond the walls of our church, look beyond the confines of our nation even, and to pray for all believers everywhere. Because the reality is, and we know it very well, that believers throughout the world don’t enjoy the same freedom of worship that you and I do. Believers in foreign nations struggle and are commanded just like these early believers not to speak the Name of Jesus. We are then reminded to pray for them. Listen to this from Ephesians: "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints"(EPHESIANS 6:18). Always keep on praying for all the believers. As we read that verse, you notice the words he uses: "all the time, all occasions, all the saints everywhere." We should keep on keeping on praying.
Believers unite in prayer to God. Believers who believe in the Lord God Almighty have a power-ful impact and influence on this world as we unite in prayer to God. We do that with our praises; not nec-essarily always asking for things but praising God for all the things He has given us. One of those things He has given us is the surety of our salvation, the confidence we have because of our Christian faith so that we can come before Him with boldness, with confidence. Then the Lord says that gift that is given to us and believers throughout the world is to be able to speak directly to Him. As believers we also are able to plead our case and to pray for others before His throne of grace. In James we are told: "Therefore con-fess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. (You are healed from the penalty of sin.) The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective"(JAMES 5:16). He says the prayer of a righteous man/believer is powerful and effective.
The Lord reminds us today as the early believers did and believers throughout all generations to the very end of time are reminded to unite together in prayer to God with praises and with all boldness. Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer
