Prayer - praying the Word
Acts 4:1-31
Looked at the last part of this 3 weeks ago – intro to prayer
Noted that prayer was a spiritual, not a mental activity
Inspired by the Holy Spirit they connected with God in a powerful way – prayed with one heart and voice – the place was shaken and they were powerfully equipped for service
A school was having considerable problems with a number of its year 11 girl pupils who had got into the habit of leaving lipstick kisses on the mirrors in the school toilets. The caretaker was becoming increasingly annoyed as lipstick is quite hard to remove from mirrors.
Finally the head teacher decided that something had to be done. She called the first group of year 11 girls to the toilet and met them there with the caretaker.
The group of girls smiled to themselves as the head explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the caretaker who had to clean the mirrors every night. Nobody was really paying any attention to her as she said how difficult it was to clean the mirrors until she asked the caretaker to demonstrate how difficult it was…
At this point the caretaker took a mop, dipped into one of the toilets and used it to scrub one of the mirrors.
Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirrors!
Sometimes the biggest key to success is identifying the key to success!
If you ever have problem with lipstick kisses on a mirror you now know exactly what to do!
Are there any keys in this bit of Acts 4 that can enable us to see the power of God like they did?
V25-26 Quotation from Psalm 2
Why is this here?
Psalm 2:1-12
About the futility of mere human kings rebelling against God
Speaks of God’s sovereign rule
V7-9 speak of the rule of the Lord Jesus
The context of this prayer is the opposition of ruling authorities
At the heart of their prayer was God’s word on ruling authorities
Look at Acts 4 again…
V24a Sovereign Lord
A great start – recognising the answer to their problem in the name used
They had been oppressed by men who were sovereign in their situation – those who had the authority of law – they appealed to a higher authority
Think about how you come to the Lord in prayer – think of the times when Sovereign Lord is appropriate, or Saviour, Mighty God, Prince of Peace etc
V24b Spoke of his amazing work in creation
V25-26 Scripture quotation
V27 Applied it to their situation
As it was in David’s day, so it is now – rulers are still rebelling against God
They now bring their situation into context – this is not a new and overwhelming disaster that might consume them – this is men doing what men have always done according to the Word of God that also tells us of God’s sovereignty over man’s schemes
V28 Again confess that even the death of Jesus which seemed terrible at the time was under God’s sovereignty
Psalm 2:8-9 A messianic prophecy – partly fulfilled in David but clearly pointing to Jesus
God given authority to his chosen ruler against a background of wrong rule
Understanding this, the believer’s prayer in Acts 4 is bold…
V29-30 “As you gave authority and power to David, as you gave authority and power to Jesus, so now give us this authority and power to do your works”
Without this grounding in Scripture their prayer might have been very different; “Please don’t let us get arrested again Lord…”
Probably many are familiar with Ephesians 6:
Eph. 6:13-18
A shield is good for defence but we can still tend to take steps backwards
Use sword and enemy starts to retreat!
Are your prayers defensive reactions to situations or are you gaining ground?
If Scripture had not been at the heart of the prayer in Acts 4 I believe it would have been a defensive prayer – instead they prayed for advance!
The devil wants to keep you on the defensive – keep you fearful of what he might do next – fill your mind with his previous achievements
The devil has a lot of tricks but they are all trumped by the Word of God … if you learn to use it
The practical bit…
Situation arises that requires prayer – what are you going to do?
Remember first of all that God knows about the situation:
Matt. 6:8 your Father knows what you need before you ask him
If he knows what you need it is therefore sensible to assume that he also knows the most effective way for you to pray!
Remember prayer is not just words – it is a spiritual activity – your spirit engaging with God through the power of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus
There is power in the Word of God, the Sword of the Spirit, and we have a God who knows what we need…
Ask him for a Scripture!
For some this will be easy as you are already used to hearing God’s voice, others need to learn how to do so – it is not difficult!
A first step is to get into the habit of reading the Book – amazing how often the Scripture you need for a day will come in your daily reading – of course the more you read the more likely this is to happen!
Secondly ask and expect him to speak – maybe a verse will come to mind, or a particular story, or just a book of the Bible
Open your Bible and start to read – be ready for the Holy Spirit’s prompting – a verse that seems to jump out of the page – something that fits the situation – a promise that contradicts the evidence of the situation that causes a stirring in your spirit
Remember you are looking for the Word of God – not songs or other people’s testimonies or encouraging Christian books – these might help you find the right part of the Bible but make sure you actually get your Bible out
If all else fails open the book of Psalms and start reading until the Holy Spirit shows you something
Law courts – judges need to be familiar with a lot of law – both statute and common or case law
Statute is law is that which is passed by parliament – legislation
Case law is based on previous cases – judgements in a current case are shaped by previous similar cases
In the Bible we have a similar situation – there are essential Bible truths – God is good, his love endures forever, God is forgiving and merciful, all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved, God is faithful, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and forever
There are also many records of individual situations – the parting of the Red Sea, the deliverance of Daniel from the lion’s den, Gideon’s victory against overwhelming odds, David’s victory over the giant that defied God
All of this can be power to your prayers
So, get your Scripture and then begin to use it – fit it to your situation, speak it, declare it against circumstances, make it your good confession, let the Holy Spirit in you bring to life what he gave to his church
My grandfather gave me a chess set – he then sat down with me and began to teach me to play – the master gave me his tools and then instructed me in their use
Allow the Holy Spirit to do this with the Scriptures that he gave for your use
2 Pet. 1:20-21 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Praying for a man in summer 2007 – the things I was hearing were not good – MRSA – in the blood – septicaemia – people die of this!
Psalm 118 – one of the Bible passages I was given – used daily in prayer – in the morning, in the evening and even swimming in the sea
He recovered!
NB A common mistake when people receive something like v17 is to assume all we be OK and wait to see it
Need to recognise this as a sword to be used and use it!
A word for today for those who feel that the wicked get away with speaking evil while the righteous are oppressed, slandered and persecuted – Psalm 12