Learn To Pray In Troubled Times

Sermon on Acts 4:23-33

Text: 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. 24 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. 25 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? 26 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.’
27 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. 28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 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.
32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all.

In Dr. Martin Luther’s explanation of the Address of the Lord’s Prayer, he gives us this meaning of the phrase, “Our Father who art on heaven.” He wrote, “With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that he is our true Father and that we are his true children, so that we might pray to him as boldly and confidently as dear children ask their dear father.” As Jesus taught about prayer, he wanted to remind us about the close relationship that we have with God. We do not have to be afraid to come to him in prayer. Rather, we can approach him boldly and confidently. As we study our text, we see a group of believers coming to God in prayer. As we do so, may we LEARN TO PRAY IN TROUBLED TIMES 1. With Confidence In The Lord Who Is Faithful To His Word and 2. With Boldness In A Lord Whose Will Is Still Done.

We are continuing our study of Acts 3&4. You may recall that Peter and John had healed a crippled beggar just outside of the temple. When a crowd gathered to see what had happened, Peter used it as an opportunity to tell the people about Jesus. The Jewish leaders had Peter and John arrested and thrown into prison. The next morning, Peter and John were called before the Jewish High Council. Peter made the statement that we studied last week, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) After the leaders convened to see what they should do, they ordered Peter and John not to speak about Jesus any more. To this Peter replied, “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20) Peter and John were released with further threats, intended to have them stop talking about Jesus.

Peter and John went back and told the others what had happened and what had been said to them. This was the first real crisis and threat that the Christian church experienced. What was their reaction? Did they panic? Did they make plans to run away? Did they decide that it would be better for them to just keep quiet? What would you have done? Let me rephrase that. What is your first reaction when we are in trouble or when trouble looms on the horizon? Do you think that it is up to you to find a way out? What do you do when you are faced with these things?

May we learn from these early believers! “When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God.” (Verse 24) It says that they raised their voices together. They were of one mind and they joined together in coming to God in prayer for help in their time of need. May God help us to be instant in prayer. May God help us so that, in times of need or trouble, prayer is our first response and not a last resort.

Let’s look at their prayer. They began by saying, “Sovereign Lord, you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.” (Verse 24) It’s interesting to note how they referred to God at the beginning of their prayer. They didn’t use the regular word for “Lord,” which denoted a warm confidence in God. Rather, this word highlights God’s absolute sovereignty and power. He is the one who created the universe. There is no one who can stand in opposition to him. How blessed we are that, when we pray, we are talking to one who can actually do something about our situation! God doesn’t just wish that he could help us out. He has the power to do something for us.

Because of this fact, we can approach God in prayer in times of trouble with confidence. We have the confidence that God is faithful to his Word. To illustrate that point, we turn to verses 25-27, “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 call to mind the things that happened to Jesus. To the outside world, it would have looked as though things had gotten completely out of control. Jesus was innocent. He had never committed a crime for which he should have been arrested, much less one that called for his execution. However, as their prayer continues, “They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.” (Verse 28) This is exactly the way that God wanted it to happen? This does not mean that God willed the sin of the conspirators and murderers. Rather, he used their wicked actions for the benefit of humanity. This was the way that the sins of all people were paid for. If the people had left Jesus alone, he never would have died on the cross. This would mean that you and I would still be in our sins and facing an eternity of separation from God in hell. However, God used the sinful actions of these people for the salvation of all. Jesus’ death on the cross paid for all the sins of all the people. His death means that you are perfect in God’s sight. His resurrection assures you that Jesus’ work of saving the world is complete.

This gives us confidence to come to God in times of trouble. Though to the eye, it may have looked as though everything was out of control, we know from the pages of the Scriptures that it was all according to God’s plan. God was faithful to his Word. Since that is the case, we can also have confidence when we come to God in prayer. He will be faithful to all of the promises that he makes to us there. For example, God makes this promise to us in Psalm 50:15, “Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” Do you hear the promises that God makes to you in that verse? First of all, he tells us to call on him. Implicit in that is the fact that he is going to hear us when we call upon him. Secondly, he promises that he will deliver us. That doesn’t mean that it will go exactly the way that we planned it to go. However, we know that God will always do what is best for us. Another example of a promise that we can cling to in times of trouble are Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:20, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” With these words, Jesus promises that you will never be alone when you are facing anything in this life. Let us remember to pray in troubled times confident that the Lord is faithful to his Word.

Up to this point in their prayer the believers had been spoken about the opposition that they were facing. They realized that if Jesus had been opposed, even to the point of his death, the opposition would not spare his followers. So, what exactly did this gathering of Christians pray for in these troubled times? Did they pray that they would have peace? Did they pray for the annihilation of their enemies? No. Instead, they prayed, “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.” (Verses 29&30) First of all, we note that they referred to themselves as the Lord’s servants. They didn’t want to prescribe to God what should happen. They wanted to serve him. They were not praying that their will would be done. Rather, they are praying that God’s will be done. What did they pray that God would enable his servants to do? “Enable your servants to speak your word of truth with great boldness.” This is what Jesus commanded his disciples to do: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19&20) That is why Peter had said to the Jewish authorities, “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20) In this time of trouble, they did not pray that their will would be done, but that God’s will would be done.

God showed that he had heard their prayer. “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.” (Verse 31) God physically shook the place where they were praying. They needed special assurance at this time, and God gave it. Verse 31 goes on to say, “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” This is what they had asked for, the willingness and the ability to speak God’s Word boldly to those they came into contact with. As you read the rest of the book of Acts, you see the church carrying out this will of God, in spite of the opposition that they faced. God’s will was done.

May God give us the same boldness to come to him in prayer that, in spite of the opposition that we face, his will is always done. Make no mistake about it. You and I will face troubled times. Things in this life will not always go as planned. We will have difficulties and setbacks. In addition, we will face opposition and attacks on our faith from many different places. The world promotes Humanism, which says that the world really revolves around you. Evolution calls the world’s origins into question. Materialism sparkles and shines and tells us that having the treasures of this world is what it is all about. Hedonism tells us that all that matters is what makes you feel good. “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” What do we do when we are facing all of these attacks from all these different places?

May God help us to follow the example of these early Christians and pray in the troubled times. What should we pray for? Should we pray for the annihilation of all of these things? We may pray for relief from them, but, may God give us the same attitude of those early Christians. They called themselves God’ “servants.” May we remember that is our station, as well. We pray that God’s will would be done among us. It may be that God’s will is that we are relieved from those things that are troubling us. It may, also, be his will that we continue to endure them. The fact that God’s will is being done gives us comfort because we have the assurance, as it says in Romans 8:28, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” God’s will is always for your benefit, never your destruction. For that reason, we can pray to God with all boldness, because his will is done for us.

This morning, we have been highlighting prayer. Prayer is, on one hand, one of the easiest things we can do. We teach our little ones their prayers to say before they eat and before they go to bed. On the other hand, praying is something that we can always work on. We can remember to pray for our spiritual welfare and not just our physical needs. We can be reminded to lift our eyes from our own circumstances and pray for others. We want to pray when things are going well and when things are difficult. May God also help us to remember the attitude that we can come to him in our prayers. Yes, we are speaking to the almighty God. However, rather than cringing in fear, we can come to him confidently and boldly. We come confidently because God is faithful to his Word. We come boldly because we know that God’s good and gracious will is always done for our benefit. God, our heavenly Father, stands ready and willing to hear our prayers. He is there for us when we face those times of trouble. We thank God for this assurance of his love for us. Amen.