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"Preach The Word"

THE PRAYING CHURCH

ACTS 4:23-31

The fourth chapter of the Book of Acts is a picture of a church at prayer.  Oh my, how these Christians could pray.  They prayed and saw results.  They expected and received answers to their prayers.  They gave priority and primacy to prayer.  They prayed as a first resort, not as a last resort.

In a sense, this church had to pray because God was their only source of hope and help.  (He is our only source of spiritual hope and help but so often we do not realize it.)  You see they did not have the advantages that some churches boast of today.  They did not have wealthy donors and large budgets.  Their pastors did not have the prestige that comes from being trained in the approved schools of that day.  The churches did not have the endorsement of the political leaders of the day.  Warren Wiersbe stated, “Most of their ministers had jail records and would probably have a hard time ‘joining’ our churches, let alone ‘leading’ them.”  And yet this church and the other early churches had something that most of our churches today lack.  They knew how to pray and see God respond by doing mighty things in their midst.

Prayer is something that any Christian or any church can be effective in doing.  We just need to learn to pray according to the principles that are taught in the Bible and especially here in this passage.  Let us join with the disciples, who upon an occasion said, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples” (Lk. 11:1b) 

It is impossible to over-emphasize the importance of prayer in the life of an individual Christian or in a church.  Someone asked the great Charles Haddon Spurgeon to explain the secret of his remarkable ministry.  He replied: “My people pray for me.”  Augustine said, “Pray as though everything depended on God, and work as though everything depended upon you.”  Matthew Henry wrote, “When God intends to bless His people, the first thing He does is to set them a praying.”  John Wesley remarked, “God does nothing but by prayer, and everything with it.”  D. L. Moody explained, “Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure.”  Oh, how we need to take seriously the matter of prayer.

A mother, listening to the evening prayer of her sleepy little daughter was astonished and amazed to hear the following: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.  And when he hollers let him go.  Eenie, meenie, miny mo.”  I wonder what God hears when we pray?  Is He sometimes astonished and amazed at what we say, as this mother was when overhearing her child pray?

No Christian is greater than his or her prayer life.  No church is greater than its prayer life.  No force on earth is greater than prayer.  Prayer moves into action the God who is the Creator and Sustainer of all that is.  In the epistle of James it is written: “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (5:16).  If this is true of an individual, how much more would it be true of a church?

The Christians in the Book of Acts were praying Christians.  They are described as such on numerous occasions.  For instance, in Acts 1:14 it is written, “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication.”  “These” referred to the apostles who were named in Acts 1:13.  They were joined by “the women” (Acts 1:14), who may have included the wives of the apostles and those who are mentioned in Luke 23:49 as the followers of Jesus.  The half-brothers of Jesus (“his brethren”) were there also.  The expression that they “continued…in prayer” means that they kept on praying.  It is an especially strong word suggesting that they put themselves energetically into prayer.  The phrase “with one accord” calls attention to their togetherness in spirit or thinking.  They all had one mind about praying.

As we examine this passage and consider our topic—The Praying Church—I pray that our findings will cause this church to be a praying church.  Let us notice the cause of their praying, the content of their praying, and the consequences of their praying.

I. THE CAUSE OF THEIR PRAYING (ACTS 4:17-20)

This church was characterized by the practice of prayer, but on this occasion they prayed because of a crisis situation.  (Sadly, much of our praying today is in a crisis situation.  So often when things are going our way, we fail to pray consistently.)  The healing of the lame man in Acts 3 had given Peter and John an opportunity to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The priests, the captain of the Temple, and the Sadducees were “grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead” (Acts 4:2).  As a result, Peter and John were “put in hold unto the next day” (Acts 4:3).  In spite of the opposition by the leaders, “many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand” (Acts 4:4).  When Peter and John were brought before the council, Peter preached the gospel to them (Acts 4:7-12).  The council withdrew into a private session, reached the conclusion that they would warn the preachers, and came out to “command them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:18).  When they were thus commanded, Peter and John gave their now famous reply: “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20).

Peter and John were threatened and turned loose.  The council would have liked to punish them but they were afraid of the people, who “glorified God for that which was done” (Acts 4:21).  Instead of caving in to the authorities, Peter and John reported to the church, which went to the Supreme Authority in prayer.  We would do well to follow the example that they set for us and be praying Christians as well as a praying church.

Notice their dilemma and their decision.

A. A Dilemma

1.The church was in a dilemma.  To continue to preach would amount to contempt for the council, but to remain silent was to disobey God.  What would they do?

2.This may have been a serious dilemma for many churches today, but these Christians put the matter into God’s hands as they went to Him in prayer.

3.How prone churches today are to disobey God rather than hurt someone’s feelings.  Certainly many Christians and many churches would disobey God rather than get into trouble with the authorities for obeying God’s Word.  We do not get that example from these Christians however.

B. A Decision

1.Recognizing their helplessness, the apostles went to their fellow believers and shared their dilemma with them.

a.This action shows that they had a great deal of confidence in their fellow church members’ wisdom and prayer power.

b.It also shows the intimacy of fellowship that they had with these other Christians.  They felt a freedom to share the problem with them.

2.Seeking direction from God, they went to Him in prayer.  What a wise decision they made.  It is always right and good to pray.

3.Again, Warren Wiersbe made a worthwhile observation concerning this passage.  He wrote, “Peter and John had just come in ‘from the trenches,’ and the church met to pray in order to defeat the enemy.  Too often today, believers gather for prayer as though attending a concert or party.  There is little sense of urgency and danger because most of us are comfortable in our Christian walk.”

II. THE CONTENT OF THEIR PRAYING (ACTS 4:23-30)

An analysis of this prayer will help us to know more about praying.  The evidence is all around us that we need to know more about praying.  What better way to learn than to study the prayers of Christians in the Bible?  As we consider the prayer of these Christians, let us ask ourselves how we would have prayed in the same situation.

A. They prayed to God as Sovereign Lord.

1.The Greek term for “Lord” in verse 24 is the term from which the English word despot derives.  A despot is a ruler who exercises absolute power, either benevolently or abusively.

2.These Christians prayed in conscious recognition that God was in absolute control of the affairs of men.

a. They addressed Him as the Creator of all there is—the heaven, the earth, the sea and all that is in each of them.

b. They prayed to Him as the One who is able to do whatever He chooses (v. 28; See also Ps. 115:3).

c. These Christians recognized that the opposition that they faced was really opposition to God’s plan and purpose.  They were helpless to do anything but pray.  When they prayed, however, they were not helpless because God is unlimited in His power.  He is able to do anything.  Daniel 4:35 records, “He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, what doest thou?”  How wise these Christians were to pray as they did.

3. It is important to observe that the early churches strongly believed in God’s Sovereignty and His perfect plan for His people.

4. Faith in the Sovereign Lord is a tremendous encouragement for God’s people to pray and keep on serving when the going is difficult.

B. They prayed to God as His servants (4:29).

1.They recognized themselves to be the servants or “slaves” of the Lord.

2. This seems to have been the posture of Christians in that day.

a.They belonged to the Lord because He purchased them from sin.

b. They had no will but His will.  They lived to fulfill His will for their lives.  They were true servants of the Lord.

3. When they prayed, they cried out to Him as to a faithful Master, who had at heart the best interests of His servants.

C. They prayed for boldness to speak God’s Word (4:29).

1.They did not pray for God to remove the threats or those who made the threats.  Evidently they assumed that the opposition would persist.

2. They did not seek to be spared trials but they did seek to be courageous in the midst of trials.

3.They prayed for “boldness” to go on speaking the Word of the Lord.

a. The term translated “boldness” means “courage,” but it also means “clarity of speech.”

b. It is not easy to speak of Jesus when others oppose our speaking of Him, but we are to keep on speaking. We are also to pray for clarity in what we speak.

c. The expression "Speak thy word” means to proclaim the gospel message.  “Thy word” is the Word of God, the “good news” of Jesus, which they had been proclaiming.

D. They prayed that God would show His power through acts of healing (4:30).

1.As He did so, people would continue to receive the message that they proclaimed and be saved by doing so.

2. The people would see the mighty acts of God and know that He was guiding and empowering the church.

3.The terms “signs and wonders” refer to miracles that were accomplished through the apostles.  These miracles affirmed visibly that God was working through those who were preaching His Word.

4.Should we not pray the same prayer today?

III. THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR PRAYER (ACTS 4:31)

The answer to the prayer of these Christians is recorded in verse 31.  God answered in power to confirm them in their ministry.  He gave them their request and more than their request.  As God answered their prayer, this church knew the presence of God, the power of God, and the purpose of God.

A. The Presence of God—“the place was shaken.”

1.It is not recorded how God shook their meeting place.

2.The shaking assured them that God was with them and that He had heard their prayer.

B. The Power of God—“They were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”  The Holy Spirit made His presence known in their lives and they experienced a new enthusiasm and vigor for serving the Lord.

C. The Purpose of God—“They spake the word of God with boldness.”

1.Notice that there is no mention of speaking in tongues in connection with this filling.  People mistakenly believe that speaking in tongues (the perversion practiced at Corinth) is an evidence of being filled with the Spirit.  We learn here that a major purpose of the filling of the Spirit is for the purpose of empowering us to speak the Word of God with courage and clarity, under the controlling influence of the Holy Spirit Himself.

2.They were not silenced or intimidated by the Jewish authorities.

CONCLUSION:

May God use this account from the Book of Acts to help us to have a strong prayer life.  The Christian or church that prays will know the presence of God, the power of God, and the purpose of God.  What an incentive to develop a strong prayer life.

Sermon From Dr. David Clark

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