When Peter and John were released after having been imprisoned for preaching the gospel, they went straight to a gathering of Christian friends who were experienced veterans in praying for others. Listen to how these friends prayed: “Sovereign Lord, you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David.” Note that they started their prayer by acknowledging God, not by asking for protection for Peter and John. They acknowledged that he is the Sovereign Lord who created the universe; he’s the God who revealed himself in the Bible; he’s behind what happens in history.
Their prayer continued, “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 did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.” In other words, King Herod of Israel and the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate conspired to kill Jesus, but God was in the background using their decisions to accomplish human salvation through Jesus’ death on the cross.
So, what's the point of all this? Their prayer acknowledged that God is the Lord of creation, revelation and history. He can do absolutely anything – including protecting Peter and John from the angry religious leaders. This declaration bolstered their faith that God could handle the problems Peter and John were having. God had done it before and God could do it again.
Related Scripture: Acts 4:24-28
© 2007 Leith Anderson
Thursday, August 2, 2007
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