Context
At the beginning of chapter
3, Peter and John, now filled with the Holy Spirit, came across a man (more
than forty years old) who had been lame from birth. This man was begging at the
temple gate. Peter said to the man, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have
I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk” (3:6).
Peter then took him by the hand and lifted him up – and this man felt his feet
and ankles become strong. He began to walk, and entered the temple … “walking
and leaping and praising God” (3:8).
This all attracted a bit of a
crowd, whereby Peter was able to speak. Peter identified God as the One who had
made this miracle happen. But he also pointed out that it was faith in the
resurrected Jesus that had enabled Peter and John to be God’s channel of
healing to this man; and by the way … this was the same Jesus that the people
had largely, just recently, rejected and caused to be crucified. The gathered
people could not deny that God was working, because they saw the healed man
right before them. So this Jesus was God’s long-promised Messiah, and the
people heard that they should repent and turn to God for forgiveness. Many
‘believed’ in Jesus that day – about five thousand (4:4).
Now you would imagine that
someone was going to get upset with talk like this, especially given the
response! This was revolutionary stuff. As chapter 4 unfolds, Peter and John
were arrested (by the ruling religious authorities). At the inquiry that
followed, Peter again stated that the good outcome for the formerly lame man
had come about through the name of Jesus – whom they had crucified, and God had
vindicated through resurrection. And now this Jesus is the path to salvation.
The ruling authorities were
amazed that these ordinary two men could talk with such boldness. And they
could not deny the miracle because there had been so many witnesses. The
only thing they could try to do was to silence Peter and John!
They could not let this news spread, for it would really upset the apple-cart …
it must be contained. Peter and John were ordered not to mention the
name of Jesus again. But they refused – Peter and John saying that they could
not help but talk about all they had seen and heard; basically saying that they
would accept any consequences. As they had only done good, Peter and John had
to be released; but they were once again threatened!
What to do?
Under these circumstances,
what should Peter and John do now? What would they do? What would we do?
We could also feel threatened about sharing the Gospel. Despite wanting
to, we could feel uncomfortable about standing out for Jesus. We
could even feel reticent to help somebody, if this would bring us under some
sort of criticism or attack i.e. standing up for a minority against the
majority. Under these circumstances what should we do? Under any threat where
should we go?
First, Peter and John
re-joined their support community. This was translated here as their
“friends” (4:23) … the original Greek indicates that Peter and John went to
their “own”!? We could see this as their spiritual community (their church),
with as many of the original disciples, and the early and recent converts who
were resident close-by. This was their ‘close-circle’ or tight-body’. There
they shared what had happened to them, the good and the not-so-good.
There then seemed to be an
instant and immediate response from this spiritual community – verse 24 – “when
they heard it, they raised their voices together to God …”!! Prayer!
Together!! Prayer wasn’t a last resort, nor an after-thought; but rather a
natural first action! The seriousness of the situation, combined with their
sense of dependence on God, drew them spontaneously to prayer. And they
were clearly “together” not only physically, but also spiritually … of ‘one
heart and one mind’.
What Prayer? What did they pray?
The prayer starts partway
through verse 24 and goes through to verse 30. It’s basic thrust is seeking a
free-sharing of the Gospel message despite any impediment (especially political
ones). There are elements of praise, reflection, intercession and assurance.
For prayer is simply a deep conversation with God (including all of the known
factors impinging on the situation at hand). This prayer may have been recited
by one, with others adding their ‘Amen’. Or, maybe others in the room were
repeating back each sentence as it was delivered by a leader. Or, maybe
different people were adding their little bit as the prayer went along. Or,
there may have been a variety of voices and prayers going on, and the one that
is recorded here is just typical of what was prayed that day.
But clearly there were the
basic elements of prayer including:
·
the
acknowledgement of the greatness of God (v.24b),
·
the understanding
that God had spoken in the past about strong opposition, including against Jesus
(citing one of David’s famous psalms – #2 within v.25-28),
·
acknowledging the
current threat to God’s servants – that could affect safety and well-being …
possibly leading to losing heart or giving in to fear (v.29a),
·
requesting God to
intervene … encouraging boldness and the performing of ‘signs’ (v.29b), and,
·
embracing the
assurance that God would respond outstandingly (v.30).
Surely these five components
would also be relevant components of our prayers today!
There were expressions of
praise, reflection, intercession and faith!!
There had always been
opposition to God’s ways, as we see in David’s psalm quoted here; and now in Peter’s time,
this has been particularly focussed on God’s Messiah Jesus. Yet God will always
have the last say; and when all the rulers and the people threw every evil
imaginable at Jesus, God brought about his resurrection, and also, the
redemption of all the world’s willing. So in this prayer, there is this great
assurance that God can change anything toward the good. The worst intentions of
world leaders and all humanity can be turned around. And God will have
the victory!
Sometimes I prefer to watch
my football team play … only after the match is already over and I know we have
one. In this way, no matter how badly they kick for goal, or no matter what
set-backs occur, I can still watch it with joy … because in the end we win. We
can live this life in joy, because we know that, in the end, God will win! Fair
to say as well, that the majority of this prayer has that necessary and complete
focus on God (with expressions of faith and confidence), which also keeps us in
the positive!
We should note also, that
this prayer does not ask for the threat to be removed. I wonder
why not?! Nor is there any desire expressed to avenge anyone – for the
disciples had learned well from Jesus’ teaching. The good news from the word of
God was for everyone to embrace, even past and current opponents. Also, there
was no request for an easier life. This prayer merely asks God to “look at
their threats” (v.29a), or, in other words, for God to ‘know that we are living
under pressure’. I wonder why? Is there the sense of inevitability … if you
serve Jesus, that means opposition. Or, could it be that threats and opposition
… actually set the scene for the most faithful expression of mission and
ministry in the world!?
How many of us rush to prayer
when things are going well for us (even if they are not for the largely
unseen)?! History tells us that the church grows best in number and integrity
under persecution. We have to prayerfully deal with threat, be undeterred by
opposition, and share the gospel with boldness, just like this text says. And
being under some level of opposition may prove that we are having some degree
of effectiveness … against some of those principalities and powers that are
oppressing people. Thus enduring opposition creatively … can actually advance
the purposes of God.
Why Prayer?
Why doesn’t God just do what
he wants? God could just make it happen! Why does God stand back, or wait for
our prayers?? Why do we need to pray at all? It’s not that we have to
convince God of anything he doesn’t already know! It’s just the way God has set
up the world. God desires our prayers. We have freewill to seek relationship
with God, or ignore him. But God desperately seeks relationship with people,
and the purpose of prayer is part of that. Prayer offers a mode of
communication between us and God. And through this communication, we can grow
in trust and faith, and better know and understand God’s ways.
So if building our
relationship with God is the first reason for the need for prayer, what is
the second??? God could work alone, but chooses to work through people. God
gives the Holy Spirit, so that the life and ministry of Jesus can go forward
through us. Thus the second reason for prayer is: partnering with God.
God wants to bring us on board with his plans, and use us as channels of
blessing to others and the world in general. And God wants to know that we are
ready to participate in His Kingdom, through our willingness to sit down and
dialogue with Him!
But sometimes we still don’t
pray!!
God calls us to prayer, so he
knows we are committed to the same outcomes as he is. As we come sincerely to
prayer, in the midst of the threats that surround us – what will God do – verse
30 – stretch out His hand to heal … and "signs and wonders" are performed through
the name of Jesus. Prayer in some mysterious and magnificent way, releases
God’s best intentions. Divine help is near! God is waiting for us to put up our
hand and commit to partner with him in bringing out his purposes. And, as was
the case for Peter and John, it is "signs" of God’s activity … that give us even
more opportunity to speak.
So when frustrations build about the state of things, and
while we are considering worthy practical responses – we
can ... NO, MUST ... utilise prayer to focus ourselves correctly. Whatever injustice is
concerning us, we know that God saw the suffering first. If we can engage with
God in prayer, and grow in Him, then we can
also wisely partner with God in contributing to the solution.
The Outcome
The church community, that
Peter and John were part of, prayed, and something big happened (v.31)! When
they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together for prayer …
“was shaken”! The room ‘shook’ … with the power of God – this tells us that God
was present in a mighty way. Psalm 114:7 reads “Tremble, O earth, at the
presence of the Lord”. All of those gathered were “filled with the Holy
Spirit”. This is NOT to say that they hadn’t been already, but that it was very
evident that they had been, and the power of the Holy Spirit was definitely
apparent in their praying. And if anyone had missed the Pentecost blessing,
they were getting it now.
And the grace-filled truths
of the scriptures, were just popping out of their mouths – the good news about
Jesus just could not be restrained! In this way, in the face of threats
and opposition, the faithful people’s prayers were ANSWERED!! It
wasn’t so much that a particular prayer point was resolved, but just the very
presence of God was so mightily experienced, that the opposition seemed
particularly irrelevant. In this way, we can maintain our joy, despite the
difficulties we face. And God was about to provide "signs and wonders" to
accompany the sharing of the gospel.
A little later, in Acts 5:12,
we read, “Now many signs and wonders were done among the people through the
apostles”. While there may be miraculous healings, those "signs and wonders"
today are likely to include extraordinary offerings of mercy, forgiveness and
compassion across the tide of normal indifference. These are the "signs and
wonders" that God will work through the hearts and hands of his people. This
will include radical and random acts of generosity, hospitality and kindness …
that automatically point beyond the human … toward Creator God.
Together!
The blessing of the Holy
Spirit seems to happen most when God’s people are communicating with Him
“together”. So let us make the best of the opportunities we have to pray
“together”; and find some new occasions as well. When we gather in large and
small groupings, let’s find ways of acknowledging that we have both a higher
power and a higher purpose! Let’s focus firmly on God and His Will and His
Ways, and thus find our way forward … come what may. In that context, let us
seek from God what we think we need, and listen well for what God wants to give
us in response.
Postscript
I’m learning that prayer
“together” fuels better and wiser ways of communicating and acting in response
to the world’s needs. But that is for next week.
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