‘On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “ ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one. ’ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and 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.” After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. ‘ Acts 4:23-31
Let’s set the stage: Peter and John went into the Temple for prayer. They were entering the “Beautiful” Gate when a beggar placed there every day locked eyes with them and asked them for money. Here is the story from scripture:
‘One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. ‘ Acts 3:1-10
1st Takeaway – The beggar asked Peter and John for money. After all, this is why he was dropped off here. People will ask us for certain things, but what they are looking for may not be the thing that will fix the problem. I was involved with the Recovery program in my previous church, and I came to find out that when someone is addicted to drugs or alcohol, one of the things that can enable them to continue in their addiction is money.
A level of discernment needs to be considered when people in trouble ask for help. And the solution to their challenge may not always be what they ask for.
When Peter reached out to this man and took him by the hand, through the power of Jesus, this man was healed.
2nd Takeaway – Sometimes, we must take some people by the hand and help them. We use a term in the recovery ministry called “Co-Dependency.” This is where two people find themselves in a “savior / need to be saved” relationship spiral.
I was told early on that we do not chase the other person, meaning that if the other person is not willingly coming forward for help, they can not be helped. It’s easy to enter into a “Co-Dependant” relationship this way.
But if the person seeking help is ready to helped, and we are there willing to help, God can work in that, and lives can be changed by God’s hand.
With that cleared up, if someone is willing to be helped, our hearts should be set to help at any cost.
‘O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help. ‘ Psalms 86:5
The Pastor from my previous church would say, “No mess, no ministry.”
Helping others will require our hands to get dirty.
When you examine the life of Jesus, you will find that He never circled back to “convince” someone to be helped. He was surprised about those He helped who didn’t return to Him.
“Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”” Luke 17:11-19 NIV
This was also interesting in the Recovery ministry; I saw many broken people enter. I saw lives start to change and get better, and then they would disappear. It seemed to me to be like the nine lepers who didn’t come back to give God the glory for their healing.
After Peter and John healed this man, they accepted no credit for this event. They were called in before the religious leaders, and they forbade them from doing anything more in the name of Jesus. Peter and John responded that they were to please God and not man. And they were released this time.
This is where we pick up on our focus verses:
On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God.
Here is the question: where do we go when we find ourselves in trouble? Do we shrink back and isolate ourselves or return to where we find our support? Our support system should include the church groups we are involved in for the Christians.
“But John, I’m not involved with a group at my church.”
I pray that you get that fixed as quickly as you can. The church is our forever family. And it should be the family that we turn to for support.
I love what Paul rights in Romans 1:
“When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.” Romans 1:12 NLT
Here’s the reality: there is someone in our church who needs us, and there is someone there that we need. But for this to work, we need to be around the people in our church. We need to be praying for people in our church, and we need people in our church to be praying for us.
When Peter and John reported what happened to the church, it resulted in prayer to God.
“Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “ ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one. ’ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and 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.”
This is their prayer; they acknowledged God as the Creator of everything. They acknowledged that God had allowed the events surrounding the death of Jesus to be under His sovereign control.
3rd Takeaway – There is nothing that escapes the justice of God. We may not understand why God allows things to happen as they do. But in the end, through our scripture study, our faith should be that God is doing His work, and His work is being perfectly done.
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Romans 8:28 NLT
4th Takeaway – Their prayer was not that the circumstances or the people around them change but that the Lord would give them the boldness to proclaim their faith in the Lord.
When faced with challenges, our prayers should not be that our circumstances or people involved change but that OUR hearts change.
“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” James 1:2-4 NLT
James writes to us, inspired by the Holy Spirit, that we are to “consider it an opportunity for great joy.”
Why would he say “an opportunity?” I believe the opportunity is on us and how we respond to the challenges and trials the Lord has allowed in our lives.
If we fight against it, I believe we will forfeit the joy the Lord wants us to have. But we’ll find that joy if we face this challenge, looking for the lesson or the heart posture the Lord wants us to have.
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
When a church prays, things are shaken up by the power of our God. From my experience, this is one of the spiritual disciplines I can do better with.
Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your Word. I pray that You continue to work through the hearts of Your disciples.
I am thankful for Your grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
I am thankful for all You provide, and I pray that You give me the wisdom to be a good steward with Your provision.
Thank You for the challenges that You allow to happen in my life; I pray that You give me the strength and courage to face these challenges, knowing that You allow them to happen to grow my faith.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!! 🙏❤️
