Response to Opposition
Faced with opposition, the early church gathered and prayed. Acts 4:23 “And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.
24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord … 31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” What were the results of that prayer? We can see from verse 31 two results of the church’s prayer. First, they perceived the presence of God. Jesus promised that when 2 or 3 gather in His name, He will be there with them. When the church abandons itself to prayer, God’s presence is perceived in a special way. The key? See verse 24 again … “When they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord …” In that phrase, “they” is plural. “one” is singular. One accord equals united prayer. Those believers were in one place for one purpose: oneness in action and oneness in motive. The entire church is to function with the mind of Christ as a group of believers operating with one accord. Second, they received the power of God. The church cannot run today on the fumes of yesterday’s filling. Every task requires a fresh spiritual fullness. They didn’t ask for the filling, but they sure got it. What kind of prayer resulted in the filling of the Spirit? They acknowledged God as sovereign (v. 24), He is in control of it all; and they recognized themselves as servants (v. 29). Filling by acknowledging and submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Sin cera, Erik
Erik O. Garthe is Associate Pastor at Canton Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland.