From Prayer To Boldness And Unity
BRD REFLECTIONS
Acts 4:23-37 and Psalm 88 (NIV)
(Winnie Lim, Missionary Associate)
READ:
Acts 4:23-24a; 31-37 (NLT)
23 As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. 24 When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God…
31 After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness. 32 All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. 33 The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. 34 There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them 35 and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.
36 For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. 37 He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles.
OBSERVE:
Through this passage, we witness the immediate response of Peter and John and the other believers to human opposition from all sides. In the face of threats, we see increased boldness to preach the good news. In the midst of confrontation, we see renewed unity of believers, “united in heart and mind” (v32a). The key to this, as we observe throughout the book of Acts, is prayer. Whatever the circumstances around, the believers lifted their voices together in prayer, were filled with the Holy Spirit, and were empowered to testify even more boldly to the resurrection power of Jesus, to whom they had pledged their allegiance.
Here, we also see the exemplar of selfless giving in community, an important theme in Luke’s writings. The emphatic statement that there were no needy people among the community of believers is given simple causative verbs – owned, sell, bring and shared.
Indeed, Luke spotlights Barnabas as the ideal of a believer and friend among a community of disciples, followers of Christ who first gave his all. Through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, the believers were enabled to recognise that “what they owned was not their own” (v32b). Any private possessions became shared resources for the furtherance of the Lord’s mission.
APPLY:
When I am faced with doubts from within and opposition from without, is my immediate response always prayer? Or do I turn to familiar distractions or often more comfortable sources that seem to soothe but may only do so on the surface and temporarily? Am I able to respond in increased boldness, steadfast and secure in the fact of Jesus’ resurrection and anchored in the hope of Christ, no matter the circumstances, proclaiming and declaring in my thoughts, words and behaviour, the good news of Jesus Christ? Very often, I feel disempowered – I wonder how in my present circumstances I can contribute to the mission of God. I ask how I can serve God and community when I myself feel needy and my sense of lack in time, talent and resources is loud. Yet today, I know I can learn from the first believers. It is the same Holy Spirit then that can empower me now to love again, to serve humbly, to share generously, and to prayerfully bring to the Lord’s table what he had first given to me. In my thoughts, words and each little deed, I can begin to respond to God’s call to further his mission of love, mercy and justice to the community around and especially to the least, the last and the lost, and to the ends of the world.
DO:
Like Peter, John and the believers in Acts, I can learn to lift my voice in prayer as my first response in any circumstance. When I pray, I will remember who the Creator of heaven and earth is. I will remember who conquered the grave. No matter my own sense of lack or incompetence, I will ask the Holy Spirit for boldness to share the good news that because Jesus lives, there is hope for each one and especially for the least, the last and the lost. When I pray, I will ask for a renewed sense of true oneness in heart and mind among the community of believers or even with just that one fellow Christ-follower in my midst, for it is by our love for one another that the ends of this world shall know that we are his disciples (John 13:35).
PRAY:
Lord Jesus, we have an eternal hope because you conquered death and darkness and you defeated any cause for despair possible on earth. Holy Spirit, empower me. Empower me to respond in boldness to your call to further your mission of love through acts of mercy and justice to this broken world. Empower me to be a part of your mission in my entire being, in a humble posture, walking with you as your disciple. All I have I do not own. Help me to bring all that you have given me to your table and to share your love and all that you have blessed me with, with the community of believers. Help us as a church to boldly proclaim the hope of your resurrection and to cheerfully share your love with the least, the last and the lost, to the ends of this world. All this I boldly ask in the name of Jesus, the holy servant of our Sovereign Lord. Amen.
