Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
Acts 4:29-31 NKJV
Peter and John had just gotten out of jail for preaching Christ, and their first stop was to go where the church was gathered. They prayed for 2 things:
- Boldness to speak the Word of God.
- Power (His hand) to heal and do signs and wonders.
When was the last time you were in a service where the first priority was boldness to speak about Jesus? Maybe we should think about that. Also, notice the boldness came before the signs and wonders. I think there’s something important there. We pray for God to protect us from persecution, they prayed for boldness in the face of persecution. We pray for miracles, but they prayed for boldness and miracles. You see, signs and wonders follow the Word. No bold proclamation, no signs and wonders.
As we gather today, in a world where people in so-called “developed countries” are being imprisoned for preaching the Bible, maybe we can learn something from the early church. Let’s go to church seeking boldness first, then miracles. We might have better results.
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