INTRO
Acts 3-4 describes the healing of the lame man at the Temple gate, Peter and John’s subsequent arrest and inquest before the Sanhedrin. The believers’ prayer meeting which followed is our text.
Prayer is spiritual communication with God. Unlike natural communication with its potential limitations, we can call on God anytime and have His full attention. In fact, the moment we speak the name of Jesus, all of heaven’s attention is inclined towards us!
Prayer is not just for the clergy!Every believer should develop their prayer life. Every believer should become a champion in prayer.
Prayer is simply communicating with God.
Main Focus: The Holy Spirit assists our prayers.
1) THE REASON FOR PRAYER – 4:23
They went to church! There is something wrong with you if you don’t want to be with believers!
Prayer is spiritual communication with God.
Life is filled with circumstances beyond our control and needing God’s help. We need His help constantly!
In our text, the believers had just gone from the excitement of the public healing of the lame man in the temple to the confusion and fear of their leaders’ arrest.
Their response to troubling issues was to pray.
Prayer should be our first response, rather than our last resort!
2) THE CONTENT OF PRAYER – 4:29-30
Prayer typically has two main components: Praise - Confession of God’s greatness, adoration, etc. (see vv. 24b-28) Petition - Requests, concerns, etc. (see vv. 29-30)
Paul told the Philippian believers, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.” Phil. 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing…”
Don’t worry about whether or not your prayer is grammatically correct or as rosy-sounding as another’s. Just pray. Just do you. It is a good prayer as long as it is honestly expressed toward God.
3) THE CONTEXT OF PRAYER – 4:24a
Usually, prayer is generally understood to be spoken, not silent in the scriptures and in Hebrew practice (“lifted their voices” v. 24).
Prayer has two contexts: 1. Individual prayer 2. Group prayer
Since we are familiar with individual prayer, let’s examine group prayer closer:
1. The overwhelming majority of prayers recorded in Acts are group prayers.
2. Group prayers invite and demonstrate unity (see Acts 1,2).
3. Praying out loud together in a group requires an increased level of personal humility and vulnerability among each other and before God.
T Rom. 8:26-27
4) THE OUTCOME OF PRAYER – 4:31
Not only was their prayer Spirit-assisted, the response was Spirit-empowered.
There are actually two Spirit-assisted ways to pray:
1. Praying from your mind (natural language), influenced by the Holy Spirit.
2. Praying from your Spirit (prayer language), influenced by the Holy Spirit.
In 1 Cor. 14:15, Paul encouraged us to pray from both our minds and our Spirits: “What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.”
The final part of the believers’ prayer was the Spirit empowering them to be brave. Spirit-filled and Spirit-led within their existing circumstances! Prayer is not a magic wand to help you live a trouble-free life. Prayer is given to draw us closer to God, to plead with Him for the miraculous, and to sustain through the difficulties we face.
“And the peace of God, which . . . through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7).
ASSIGNMENT: Choose 2 or 3 things to pray about intently this week.
