A Praying Church: Acts 4:21-31

Well hey there Crossing family! Turn with me to Acts 4 in your Bibles—Acts 4.

Here at The Crossing our mission is Developing Devoted Followers of Jesus. And one of the ways we do that is in our sermon time on Sunday mornings.

In this season, we’ve been studying through the Book of Acts. Acts was written by a Jesus-follower named Luke to his friend Theophilus. And in it, he explains all about what Jesus continued to do through the Holy Spirit after He ascended into heaven.

Acts is where we see the birth of the Church. And from it’s inception, the church has been on a mission. So just to recap:

In Acts 1—God’s people receive the mission from Jesus: You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. [Acts 1:8] That’s the mission—to be His witnesses. In Acts 2—the Holy Spirit comes upon them and gives them power for the mission. The church begins to grow and flourish.

In Acts 3—Peter and John speak the name of Jesus and a man who had never walked a day in his life is healed.

But in Acts 4—for the first time—the mission meets opposition. The religious leaders are furious that Peter and John are preaching Jesus. They arrest them, threaten them, and command them to stop speaking in the name of Christ.

Peter and John refuse. And after further threats, they are released and go straight back to their church family to report everything that happened.

Now put yourself in that room. The mission just got harder. The pressure just got real. The threats aren’t hypothetical anymore.

So what would God’s people do? What would they pray for?

And I think that’s a question worth asking because here’s what I believe: Most Christians don’t struggle with if they should pray. They struggle with what they should pray.

If I asked you to write down your five most common prayer requests, what would they be? Health? Family? Finances? Work? Stress?

None of those are wrong things to pray about. In fact, God invites us to bring every concern to Him.

But when God’s people in Acts 4 found themselves facing opposition, those weren’t the things they prayed for.

So what did they pray for? And what should we pray for?

Our text gives us 4 answers.

#1—PRAY FOR GOD’S PERSPECTIVE

Let’s pick up in v23:

READ Acts 4:23-28

The first thing Peter and John do is not call a strategy meeting. They don’t discuss public relations. They don’t talk about legal options. They don’t gather everyone together and say, “What are we going to do?”

They gather the church and begin talking about God.

Sovereign Lord… they begin their prayer with. That’s a faith-filled declaration. They’re saying, we believe You are Lord over all!

And they remind themselves:

God created everything. God rules everything. God predicted all these events, He even used the crucifixion to accomplish His purposes! If He could do that then, He can surely do something now!

This pattern is important: They don’t start with the problem. They start with God. And that’s worth underlining. They don’t start with the problem. They start with God.

Before they talk about what is happening around them, they remind themselves who reigns above them.

Which if you recall, is exactly what Jesus taught them to do—when you pray say Father, hallowed be Your name…

And then they reference what God said in Psalm 2—that this exact thing would happen.

Think about what they’re doing. They aren’t looking at their circumstances to understand God. They’re looking at God and His Word to understand their circumstances.

Praying like this is confident praying. They anchor themselves firmly in who God is as Creator, and what He’s already said in Scripture.

This is the perspective we need too. God’s not surprised or unaware of what’s happening. Everything—a man’s inability to walk, the safety of God’s people, the words they’re given to say— even the opposition of religious leaders—is under God’s sovereign rule.

And that’s important for us because we still face opposition today. For some of you, opposition looks like a family member who doesn’t understand your faith. For some, it’s pressure at work to compromise your convictions. For some, it’s fear of speaking the name of Jesus because you’re worried what people will think. For others, it’s simply discouragement. You’ve been faithful and things haven’t gotten easier.

The early church understood something we often forget: perspective changes everything.

The size of your prayer is connected to your view of God. When God is small, problems look big. When God is big, problems find their proper place.

That’s why Paul can later say in Ephesians 2:6 that God has raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms.

In other words, the Christian doesn’t look at life merely from street level. We have been given a higher vantage point.

And from there—from the throne room of God, from the perspective of His sovereignty, His promises, and His purposes—the things that seem overwhelming today suddenly don’t seem quite so overwhelming after all.

And so, before you ask God to change your circumstances, ask Him to help you see your circumstances the way He does.

Then…we can:

#2—PRAY FOR GOD’S PURPOSES

In the face of opposition, the church prays:

v29a Now, Lord, consider their threats…

And we’re waiting for—and remove them.

But that’s not what they pray.

Now, Lord, consider their threats…and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. [Acts 4:29]

They don’t pray: Lord, please cause them to die horribly, or

please stop them from being so mean.

They don’t pray: Lord, cause this persecution to stop or even, please convert these guys so Your work can go forward.

They don’t ask God to stop the opposition at all.

Think about that.

The very people who had the authority to imprison them, beat them, and potentially kill them had just threatened them. And yet their primary concern wasn’t safety. It wasn’t comfort. It wasn’t relief. It was faithfulness.

Lord, don’t let us shrink back. Don’t let us become silent.

Don’t let fear keep us from the mission You’ve given us.

Is this the kind of prayer you typically pray when things are hard?

Many of our prayers focus on getting us out of difficult situations. The early church focused on being faithful in difficult situations. Here’s the thing—easier doesn’t necessarily mean faithful.

Praying for God’s purposes means wanting what God wants more than what we want. His Kingdom come…His will be done.

And that changes the way we pray.

So instead of: Lord, get me out of this.

We begin praying: Lord, show me what You want to do through this.

Instead of: Lord remove this person.

We pray: Lord, show me how to love this person.

Instead of: Lord, make my life easier.

We pray: Lord, make me more faithful.

You see, God certainly cares about our comfort, but His highest purpose is not our comfort. God’s highest purpose is His glory through transformed people.

The early church didn’t pray for a different assignment. They prayed for faithfulness—to God’s purposes—in the assignment they had.

Friends, that’s a very different prayer. And when we begin praying for God’s purposes instead of merely our preferences, we quickly realize something: We don’t have the strength to live that way on our own.

Which leads to the next request…

#3—PRAY FOR GOD’S POWER

This is the centerpiece—from the second half of v29. They pray: enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.

Think about how remarkable this is! The very thing that got them in trouble is the thing they ask God for more power to do.

The Sanhedrin says, “Stop talking about Jesus!”

The church prays, “Help us talk about Jesus!”

Not less—more. Not quieter—bolder.

That’s amazing. This wasn’t self-confidence or strong personality. These weren’t just a bunch of extroverts. Remember what the council said earlier in Acts 4?

They were unschooled, ordinary men…but they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

That’s where courage comes from.

And that’s what we need! The church in every generation needs to learn what it means to pray with this kind of courage—because we’ve been sent to be His witnesses.

If anyone could have said, “I’ve got this figured out,” it would have been the Apostle Paul. Paul was arguable the greatest witness ever—prayed this same prayer a couple times: Ephesians 6:19-20 he asked, Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Again, in Colossians 4:3-4—And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.

Church, this mission we’re on has eternal implications and we can’t do it on our own. We need God’s power to be bold and courageous.

How many of us have a neighbor we’re praying for? Or a coworker? A son or daughter? How many of us—show of hands—have “our one?”

Here’s my guess: We don’t necessarily need more information. Most of us already know who God has placed in our lives. What we need is power. The power to start the conversation. The power to tell our story. The power to invite. The power to speak the name of Jesus.

Because (Romans 1:16) the good news of Jesus is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.

The greatest obstacle to sharing the good news is rarely a lack of knowledge. It’s usually a lack of power—the Spirit-given courage to speak when the opportunity comes.

And so God’s people pray for God’s power. v30 says they pray for Him to keep working—to stretch out His hand to heal and perform signs and wonders in Jesus’ name.

And almost before the final “amen” had left their lips, God answered. The building shook. And I think it was more than an earthquake. I think it was because God was reminding His people: “I’m here. I hear you. And I will give you everything you need for the mission I’ve called you to.”

v31 After 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.

Just like Jesus promised in Acts 1:8—the power to be witnesses came from the Holy Spirit.

And so—#4—we—

#4—PRAY FOR GOD’S PRESENCE

Notice what God doesn’t give them. He doesn’t remove the Sanhedrin. He doesn’t eliminate opposition. He doesn’t guarantee an easier future.

The threats are still there. The mission is still difficult. The world is still hostile. Yet God answers.

How does God answer? He doesn’t remove the opposition. He gives them Himself. The Holy Spirit fills them again.

If you don’t hear anything else today, hear this…

The greatest answer to prayer is not always a changed situation. The greatest answer to prayer is often God’s presence within the situation. Let me say that again…

Moses understood this. God had already promised the land. God had already promised victory. God had already promised blessing. But Moses knew none of those things mattered if God wasn’t there. So he says, in Exodus 33:15, If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.

David understood this too. After all the multitude of sins with Bathsheba, he doesn’t pray for comfort. He prays, Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. [Psalm 51:11]

One of Jesus’ most loved held-onto-promises is surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. [Matthew 28:20]

Why? Because our greatest need…and the greatest gift God gives to His people is Himself!

Many of us pray: fix this, change that, open this door, close that door. And God certainly answers those prayers.

But what if God’s more consistent answer is, I’m not removing you from this situation right now. But I will be in it with you.

For the parent carrying a burden—I’m with you.

For the person facing a diagnosis—I’m with you.

For the marriage under strain—I am with you.

For the believer trying to speak the name of Jesus in a world that doesn’t always welcome Him—I am with you.

God’s presence is enough. Not because the circumstance isn’t painful, but because no circumstance can separate us from the God who is in it with us.

CONCLUSION

I am so thankful for a text like this. These are real people living through real opposition in real life. And they remind us that there is a powerful difference between the people of God and everyone else. God’s people prioritize faithfulness. It’s courage over comfort. It’s obedience over opinion. It’s mission over self.

What if our first prayer wasn’t Lord remove this, but Lord use this? What if instead of asking God primarily to change our circumstances, we asked Him to make us faithful in our circumstances?

I just wonder what would happen around here, if we spent less time asking God to make life easier and more time asking Him to make us faithful.

Because the mark of a faithful church isn’t that opposition never comes. The mark of a faithful church is what it does when opposition comes, the church prays. A faithful church is a praying church.

So—when pressure comes—pray for God’s perspective, pray for God’s purposes, pray for God’s power, and pray for His presence. Because the God who rules over all things…is also the God who walks with His people through all things.

And so, like those early believers whose first response was prayer…let’s pray: Sovereign Lord, You made the heavens and the earth and the sea…and everything in them. God Lord, You see the opposition we face as Your people today—enable us— Your servants—to speak Your word with great boldness. Give us Your perspective.

Align us with Your purposes.

Lead us with Your power.

And more than anything else—fill us with Your presence.

In the name of Jesus we ask these things, Amen.