The Book of Acts ~ Study Nineteen

"Bow~Lay~Ask~Shake"


Acts 4:23-31 (NLT) As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: “O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant, saying,

   ‘Why were the nations so angry? 

Why did they waste their time with futile plans?

    The kings of the earth prepared for battle;

 the rulers gathered together against the Lord

    and against his Messiah.'

     “In fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed. But everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will. And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
     After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.


Peter and John were finally freed after spending a grueling night in prison and relentless questioning and demands from the priests and other temple officials. They had boldly refused to stop speaking in the Name of Jesus and were eventually released. Now they were back with other believers and the first thing they did was to pray.


Remember the lesson "The First Next Step" (see Acts 1:14)? After Jesus had been taken up to heaven they met together with many other followers of Jesus, including His mother Mary, and prayed. Now, after being released from the harassment of the temple officials, they met with fellow believers and prayed again.


What was the specific request they made of the Lord? Why do you suppose they felt they needed to pray for this? They didn't seem afraid as they were being held and questioned, but I'm sure they were. Their fear wasn't doubt that God would take care of them, rather, they would boldly speak the Name of their Messiah ~ Jesus.


What are you afraid of? What do you need from the Lord? What weighs on your heart daily? Where do you go for help? Do you have other believers that will pray with you?


It is so important that, we as believers, have a few close friends who also love and serve Jesus that are willing to spend time in prayer with us. Who are those people to you? Are you that kind of friend to others?


The believers in the passage today, went boldly before the Lord and asked for specific things.  First, they acknowledged God and His sovereignty. They prayed, "O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them..." When they prayed they knew what God was to them. They knew the relationship of God as their true Ruler. When we come to God first then we are on the right track. He is the ultimate authority. His ways are best and should want His best for us.


Isaiah 45:9 (NLT) “What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’"


It would unimaginable to hear a clay pot speaking much less arguing with the potter. Yet, that is what we do when we don't acknowledge the superiority of our Creator God. It's ok to ask God why, but ultimately we must bow to our Maker first in order to get in line with what He wants. He wants the best for us. 


The next thing the believers did was to tell God all about what was going on. Of course He already knew but it was important for them to let all their anxiety out. God wants to hear our problems and sooth our hurt.


2 Corinthians 1:1-5 (NLT) "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ."


Go to God and let Him know what's on your heart. Let it all out even though He already knows. What are some things that you are holding on to? Are you ready to let it out so God can heal and comfort you? Why or why not?


The third thing these prayer warriors did was to lay their requests before God. They prayed, "And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
We need to present our requests to the One who can fulfill them for us according to His will.


Ephesians 6:18 (NIV) 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.


When we've acknowledged God's authority over us and let Him know what's on our hearts we can then ask Him anything. We can do this because we want His good and perfect plan for our lives. Oftentimes we skip over the first two steps. We want what we want and we want it now. We aren't ready to receive God's best and are only ready to receive what we desire. As we bow before God, acknowledging His sovereignty over us, lay out our feelings  and then present our requests to Him, we are walking in His will. Christ Himself prayed this way.


Matthew 26:39 (NLT) He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”


Our hearts must be like Christ's...we should want His plans and purposes for our lives because His are perfect. Ours, thought they may seem to be right at the time, are not. They fall short and may even be damaging to us.


God responds to our requests when our hearts want His will. The believers that day most definitely wanted God's will because look what happened: "After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness." God will shake our world with His goodness and in His perfect timing. The problem with our demands of God at times is that we aren't in agreement with Him.


How do your prayers usually go? Do you bow? Do you tell? Do you ask? Do you expect? God so wants us to talk with Him. Jesus paid the ultimate price for this ability to approach God. What do you say? Do you want to join me and meet God through Jesus in prayer? Let's pray!


Dear Lord,
   We acknowledge you supremacy over us and believe that You know best. Our hearts aches and worries are laid before you. Hear us Lord and answer us according to Your perfect plan. Shake our hearts and may we praise you for the answer.


In Jesus Name we pray. AMEN.