Church On Mission | Prayer

What this episode covers

About the Talk: Prayer is, of course, foundational to the Christian life. It is where we make our requests known to God and where we kneel in surrender; where we make bold petitions and where we wrestle with perplexing questions. Prayer is the starting point of engaging in God’s mission as we align ourselves with his own plan to bless the world and seek him for the fulfilment of that. The passage in Acts 4 records the events immediately following the release of Peter and John, who had been held by the Sadducees and the temple guard, “because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead” (Acts 4:2). The Sanhedrin decided that, “to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name” (v 17). However, “Peter and John replied, ‘Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard’” (vs 19-20). Having been released, Peter and John went straight back to the church to report all that had just happened. In response the believers, “raised their voices together in prayer to God” (v 24). In the face of threats from the religious authorities, the early church had a far greater conviction - God’s mission, through the message about Jesus, must go on. Nothing will stop it, so nothing will stop them. Their primary convictions, expressed in their prayer, are: - God is the Sovereign Lord (v 24). He alone has the right to command his people, not the authorities; only he is Lord, not them or even Caesar. He is sovereign; whatever the Sadducees may want done, it is God who rules. Their confidence in coming to God in prayer could not be expressed more emphatically than with, “Sovereign Lord.” - All that had recently happened was prophesied: “You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David…” (vs 25-26). What is happening is just what God’s word said would take place. - Despite the opposition they’re facing, God’s sovereign will is being worked out. This was displayed most clearly when, in killing Jesus, “They [were in fact only doing] what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen” (v 28). If God’s sovereign will is accomplished through turning that great evil into ultimate good, the imprisonment and threats they have just received will surely only work to serve God’s purposes too. And so they pray, “God, we ask you to continue your mission through us in the face of this opposition.” Their passion is undaunted by all that has happened (to Jesus as well as to Peter and John), so they ask for more power to continue the mission: “Enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus” (vs 29-30). Far from taking a break or going into hiding for a while until things have calmed down, they want to see God at work all the more, whatever the cost. The result is well known: “the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” (v 31). As in 1:8, the disciples are empowered by the Spirit for the mission he is sending them on, with the result that their prayer is answered through receiving power to live and speak for Jesus wherever they went. Our context may be different, but the same convictions can equally drive us to prayer that God’s mission will continue with great power. As we pray for our friends, our town, our nation, our world, we remember that God is the sovereign Lord, working out his purposes as recorded in the Bible (which culminated in sending his Son). We, his people, are now the ones who take the message of the good news forward in the power of the Spirit, with signs and wonders following.

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