Peter and John were in danger. The leaders in Jerusalem had threatened them, warning them not to talk about Jesus any more (ACTS 4:18). When they told all this to the other Christians, they had a prayer meeting straightaway.

What happened next is amazing! They all praised God to start. Then they asked for boldness to keep sharing the good news of Jesus. As soon as they finished praying, the house shook and they were filled with the Holy Spirit (V.31). They continued to talk about Jesus openly, looked after everyone in the church and made sure no one was in need (VV.31-37).

I’ve never felt a building shake at a prayer meeting, but I have seen God’s power at work. Sometimes, when things have been going wrong at church or there have been fall outs, we’ve all been asked to pray together. Sometimes I saw people simply say no. Sometimes we’d mumble prayers together for the sake of it. Those prayer meetings failed.

But occasionally someone would simply talk to God at these prayer meetings, saying honestly how they felt and asking God to take the lead. Almost immediately the atmosphere would change. The building may not have shaken, but we all felt different. We openly praised God together, shared our struggles and simply came as we were to Him. When our prayers are honest, great things can happen.

By: Herb VanderLugt

To Pray About . . .

Lord, please teach me to be honest in my prayers and remain hopeful that we will see changes as we continue to pray.