PRINCIPLES IN POWERFUL PRAYER (from Acts 4)

Prayer is an amazing gift from God and an awesome topic to think about. In the New International Version of the Holy Bible, some form of the word, “prayer” is used 375 times. And there are plenty more times where we see prayer in the Bible without the word being used. For example, James 1:5 says, 

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God for it. 

That is clearly talking about prayer but it doesn’t use the word prayer. And then, we’ve got tons of examples of people praying - like Moses, Daniel, and Jeremiah in the Old Testament, David in the Psalms, and Jesus in the Gospels - who is recorded praying 25 different times. So, prayer is found all throughout the Bible and there are many precious things we can learn about prayer as we search the Scriptures.
 
Even though it would be impossible to encapsulate everything there is to know about prayer in one short article, we can glean valuable insights that can enhance our spiritual lives by looking closely at certain passages of Scripture. This is especially true when studying a prayer that is recorded in the Bible.
 
One prayer from the early church in Acts 4 provides great insight into powerful praying. First the passage, and then five insights to inspire us. 
 
Acts 4:24-31

24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:
‘Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one.’ 
27 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. 28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

Five Insights:

1. Powerful Prayer is rooted in Reverence (v. 24 & 28).

Oh sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them… (v. 24)

Everything they did was determined beforehand according to Your will… (v. 28)

Notice this prayer begins with a perspective of reverence. In spite of the seriousness of the situation faced by the disciples, they begin by lifting their focus onto the Lord. “God, you are Creator, you are sovereign, you reign supreme. You’ve got this! You’re bigger than all this and You know what you’re doing. They want to kill us just like they killed Jesus, but we lift our eyes to you in total trust, knowing that you stand above it all!”  

How amazingly relevant this is today, isn’t it?!  With all the struggles in this world right now today, all the injustices, all the threats to our health and well-being, all the divisive vitriol, and all the worries and stressors it can be easy to lose perspective. The early disciples provide the example for us to follow of lifting our eyes to the Lord in total trust, knowing that He stands above it all. We observe here that powerful prayer is rooted in reverence, because reverence for God unlocks trust in God
 
 

2. Powerful Prayer is rooted in Revelation (v. 25-26) 

You spoke… (v. 25)

This tiny phrase indicates that the early disciples are quoting Scripture as they pray. This scripture is from Psalm 2:1-2. You see, Scripture informs and shapes our praying. Our prayers, in the words of Daniel Henderson, must be “Scripture-fed and Spirit-led.” We observe here that powerful prayer must be rooted in God’s revealed Word.
 
 

3. Powerful Prayer is rooted in Reality (v. 27 & 29)

Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire… (v. 27)

Hear their threats…” (v. 29) 

The disciples are saying, “This happened right here!” Prayer is not hiding from reality. It is not sticking one’s head in the sand. Rather, it is a way of engaging what is really going on. It’s a way of engaging reality with God and processing reality in the presence of God. And through prayer, God prepares us to engage and to act according to His purposes.  We observe here that powerful prayer is a way to engage reality with God so that He can empower us to engage the world around us according to His will.
 
 

4. Powerful Prayer is rooted in God-honoring Requests (v. 29-30)

Give us great boldness. (v. 29)

Stretch out your hand… and do the things that only You can do. (v. 30)

Notice what the disciples did NOT pray for:

• Safety
• Change in the power structures in society
• Change in their situation
• Change in their external circumstances

Notice what they DID pray for:

• A change in themselves.
• They prayed for divine enablement to do God’s will!
• They were relentlessly committed to doing the will of God, no matter the consequences and because of their commitment to God’s will, they prayed boldly for God’s help & power.

We observe here that powerful prayer is rooted in God-honoring requests.
 
 

5. Powerful Prayer yields powerful Results (v. 31)

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (v. 31)

The Lord answered their prayer in a powerful way. The meeting place was shaken and the disciples were filled with boldness! This is something remarkable that we see in the book of Acts: there is a direct correlation between major moves of the Holy Spirit and prayer. In fact, all the major moves of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts are preceded by prayer. Sometimes this is individual prayer, like with Peter in Acts 10. Sometimes it is corporate prayer, like with the church in Antioch in Acts 13. Always, the results are powerful as God moves in incredible ways. We observe here that prayer yields powerful results.
 
These five insights to prayer can be incorporated into our prayer lives very easily. You can try adding any of these insights into your prayer time with the Lord. You can also use them as a template to guide you.
 
Start with reverence for God by giving God praise. Then recall to mind Scripture (revelation) that informs your perspective. Next, present to God real situations that concern you. Then, lift your God-honoring requests before the Lord. Finally, trust in the Lord to answer your prayer in powerful ways that bring Him glory.
 
Reading the prayers of the saints in Scripture brings fresh insight and inspiration for our own prayer lives. This short article is one example. May the Spirit guide you as you encounter other examples in God’s Word, and may He lead you in greater depth and intimacy as you grow closer to the Lord in prayer.