All these books on prayers are empowering
lives today. Today, I was
reading some in Acts, and a lot of things
smacked me in the face that I
hadn't seen before. (That's one AWESOME
part about reading the Bible -
what you read is ALWAYS something new
and pertinent to life, and God
will confirm His Word in your life, too!)
In Acts 4, after being
questioned by rulers and scribes about
their 'power source' for the
healing of a lame man (couldn't walk),
Peter and John went back to their
cohorts (fellow disciples) and prayed
a wonderful prayer...
Text Used: Acts 4:23-31
23 And being let go, they went to their
own company, and reported all
that the chief priests and elders had
said unto them.
24 And when they heard that, they lifted
up their voice to God with one
accord, and said, Lord, thou art God,
which hast made heaven, and earth,
and the sea, and all that in them is:
Here, they give Praise
to God for who He is and for what He has done -
that's a good definition of Worship.
25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David
hast said, Why did the heathen
rage, and the people imagine vain things?
26 The kings of the earth stood up, and
the rulers were gathered
together against the Lord, and against
his Christ.
27 For of a truth against thy holy child
Jesus, whom thou hast anointed,
both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the
Gentiles, and the people of
Israel, were gathered together,
The believers recite
a prophecy from Psalms, given through David
(comes from Psalm 2 in your local Bible),
and in verse 28, acknowledge
an attribute of God's Sovereign Will:
28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy
counsel determined before to be
done.
Right now, they are
also worshipping God in Spirit and in Truth. God
is a Spirit, and we must worship Him in
Spirit and in Truth.
(But the hour cometh, and now is, when
the true worshippers shall
worship the Father in spirit and in truth:
for the Father seeketh such
to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they
that worship him must worship
him in spirit and in truth. - John 4:23-24)
They had a pure and
right heart in True Praise and were in agreement
(in one accord). They also Praised Him
even with His Word and knowledge
of it through the Holy Spirit. You can
'stand on the Word' in a sort,
in praying verses from the Bible. Just
don't do anything artificially
out of your own heart! Don't be like a
Pharisee and yell on a street
corner how great your works are just to
get approval from men. As Paul
said, 'am I trying to win approval of
men, or of God?' [God was his
answer :) ].
Here comes the biggie
that we should all consider to some extent in
our own daily prayers. We ALL need the
Boldness from the Holy Ghost and
should acknowledge that and ask for it.
'Ye have not because ye ask
not.' Also, 'if a father, though being
evil, gives good gifts to his
children, how much more shall the Father
give the Holy Spirit to those
who ask!' Matthew 7:7 says, 'ask and receive,
knock and the door shall
be opened unto you.' Amen, and here's
the prayer:
29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings:
and grant unto thy
servants, that with all boldness they
may speak thy word,
30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal;
and that signs and wonders
may be done by the name of thy holy child
Jesus.
Now THAT is a pretty
awesome request, huh? Not just boldness, but for
applied faith in healing in Jesus' Name,
and miracles in His Name (the
Name above ALL other names), too!
31 And when they had prayed, the place
was shaken where they were
assembled together; and they were all
filled with the Holy Ghost, and
they spake the word of God with boldness.
The place was SHAKEN
after they prayed. I highly doubt this was an
ordinary 'earthquake'. What about the
Mighty Rushing Wind in Acts 2?
That was certainly NO coincidence (they
ended up with the Holy Ghost and
Speaking in the tongues [languages] of
different people in the streets
around the Upper Room!). God shook the
place and granted their prayer.
Do you believe He will grant the same
for YOU?