A PRAYER THAT MOVED THE HOLY SPIRIT (ACTS 4:23-31)

The time of Acts was an incredible, powerful time in the life of the young church, but was not without its problems. Our brothers and sisters of that time faced pressing opposition from powerful religious and political enemies. It does us good to look in on what they faced and how they handled it, as God worked powerfully among them and through them. In this message, we come to a passage that has always reached out and gripped my heart, where Luke tells of something I wish for us today.

23 When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 
24 And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “O Lord, it is You who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them,
25 who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said,
‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
And the peoples devise futile things?
26 ‘The kings of the earth took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the Lord and against His Christ.’
27 “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.
29 “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence,
30 while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.
(NASB)