Read: Acts 4:23-31
Grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness. (v. 29)
Praying with persecuted Christians and hearing their boldness grips my heart in ways I find hard to describe. Last year I met a woman from Bhutan who shares the hope of Jesus at great risk. As she described her passion for the gospel, I could hear the sentiment of Peter and John in Acts 4:20 “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” When she prayed, her boldness permeated the hearts of all in the room.
The prayer in today’s text offers a model for perilous times. The apostles had been arrested, threatened, released, and warned not to speak about Jesus. How did they pray at that moment? They began by addressing God as “Sovereign” (v. 24). The Greek word here, despotēs, describes a ruler with unchallengeable power. He is the creator of all things and the one who controls all history, including the reign of kings, the suffering of Jesus, and their own predicament (vv. 27-28). This is the one to whom they pray.
Next, they asked God for three things: They want God to consider the threats against them, they pray for boldness to speak, and they ask God to act in power (vv. 29-30). They don’t ask for their safety or for the demise of their opponents. Their one desire is for the Word of God to be spread. The apostles’ prayer then and the prayers of persecuted believers today can shape our prayers in whatever peril we face.
As you pray, ask God for a boldness like theirs.
About the Author
Rev. Jon Opgenorth serves as president of Words of Hope. Previously, he served for 18 years as senior pastor at Trinity Reformed Church in Orange City, Iowa. In preparation for ministry, he received a BA in Religion from Northwestern College, and an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary.
