We are not called to go to church. Jesus has called us to be the church that he unleashed to the world. Every major movement of God began with prayer. God wants to unleash you to be the difference maker he created you to be, and that happens through prayer. This week we are going to talk about how we can live this way so that we can make an impact in our world today. Acts 4 teaches us some interesting aspects of prayer.
1. Read Acts 4:13-18. Notice that the leaders didn’t challenge them to change their beliefs; they challenged them to do nothing with their beliefs. What is the danger of doing nothing with our “beliefs”? How does failing to pray relate to “doing nothing with our beliefs?”
2. Read Acts 4:19-23. How do you think you would have responded in this situation?
3. Read Acts 4:24-30. This is the prayer of John and Peter. Part of it is praise, part of it is proclamation, and part of it is petition. Where would you put the dividing lines? Why is it important to include these different types of prayer in our prayers?
4. Prayer that fills us with strength always begins with praise. Praise allows us to pray with confidence and trust that are rooted in a deep conviction that God is good and God is sovereign. Prayer puts my unknown future in the hands of an all-knowing God. Prayer puts my hopeless situation in the hands of an all-powerful God. Can you share a time when your confidence in God was strengthened through your praise?
5. If God can take any mess, any mishap, any wastage, any wreckage, any anything, and choreograph beauty and meaning from it, then you can take a day off. If He can’t, get busy. Either God is always at work, or you need to try harder. Either God is good and in control, or it all depends on you. Praise gives us the ability to see the greatness of God more than the greatness of the problem that is before us. Is there any problem that you can face that is bigger than God?
6. Read Acts 4:25. What does this verse tell us about our Scriptures?
7. In Acts 4:24-28 Peter and John’s prayer includes, “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “You made…You spoke…You decided.” They are praising God! God has power over everything because He made everything. God spoke because He knew what was going to happen before it happened. God decided; He is always in control. You are always working out your plan even when we could not see it. You have a plan for all things and are working all things out for our good. You are in control. How does knowing this about God build confidence in your prayers?
8. Read Matthew 7:7, 21:22, Mark 11:24 & John 14:13–14. The heartbeat behind these statements is that God really does want you to come to him because he loves to listen to you and be involved in your life. Prayer is not about informing God of what is happening; it's a posture of coming to Him because you are confident that He wants to be involved. Is there anything that could keep you from praying the following prayer every day? “Sovereign Lord...Enable me to live and speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of Jesus.”