Praying With Power

“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 4:31)

THE FIVE MOST IMPORTANT WORDS IN THE BOOK OF ACTS 4:31

AND 
WHEN
THEY
HAD
PRAYED
(Quoted)

The ANSWER-
Here they had JUST prayed. 
In Acts 1:14 they had BEEN praying. 

Here in Acts 2:4 it says, “And they were all FILLED with the Holy Spirit.” 

Exactly the same verb.)
Here God shakes the building to demonstrating His power. 

There in Acts 2:2 a “sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind.”

Here Acts 2:4,11, they speak the Word of God with boldness.
There they began to speak in other tongues the great things of God 

God will manifest His Spirit to us with power when we pray to Him.

WHO WAS PRAYING?
Luke doesn’t say they went to “the other apostles.” He says they went to “their friends,” literally: “their own.” 
What this means is he went to his family, friends, close associates, neighbors….

He didn’t see the need to run to the temple, run down an Elder, a Pastor to make it official. He went to “his own” his own circle of people near to him.

WHEN DID THEY PRAY?
They prayed after just being threatened by religious leaders to not speak the Name of Jesus.
In verse 18 the priests and elders demanded that Peter and John “not speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.” In verse 21 they go even farther threaten them even more.

The Conditions of this prayer with those in his circle of friends was the dangerous threats against the preaching of God’s Word in the name of Jesus. 

There were extraordinary Obstacles in the way of the spread of Jesus’ name. This is why the church is so urgent in its prayer. 

WHO did they pray to?
They prayed to the Creator of all things. To the Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them . . . ” 

They prayed to the One who created everything, the One True Living God

They knew that if God created everything in earth, sea, and heaven, then these elders and priests are God’s property and God can do with them as He pleases. They entrusted God with their needs on the basis of who God is in relation to their needs. 

What did they ASK for?
Verse 29 says:
“Now, Lord, look upon their threats.” 

In other word, “ look Lord what they’re saying in their threats, they’ve commanded us not to speak of your Son’s name any more. That is what is at stake here. So rouse yourself, because nothing is of greater interest to you than the honor of your Son. Rise up. Take note. Look on their threats.”

They weren’t “hemming” around with their words on their condition, the obstacles, they got to the point. And God heard, and God demonstrated His presence and God answered their requests for help.

Praying to God shouldn’t be thought of that the only place, the only people, I pray with is at a church, as powerful and rewarding as it is. Prayer, powerful praying happens with and for your family, friends, neighbors, Co-workers choose to come to the Creator and Sovereign God who hears and answers our requests according to His perfect will. Praying being “filled with the Holy Spirit “ avails much and is freely given by God to all who ask. Praying filled with the Holy Spirit is as simple as saying, Lord, fill me with Your Spirit. And when you are filled, be prepared to experience a deeper more rich relationship with the God who lives in you and loves you. He’s just waiting for you to take the time and come to Him.

About 8 months ago, I believe the Lord gave Patty and I a burden to pray more. He gave us a vision to start a prayer ministry…..OVER THE PHONE. With our cellphones we connected all at one time 6 friends and family over 400 miles apart to make time three nights a week and intercede for each other and family, friends, neighbors, Co-workers, unsaved, prodigals. It has been truly rewarding and beneficial in our knowing the heart of our Lord, fine tuning our ear and connecting our hearts to agree with His way, purpose for all our lives.

I would recommend It to anyone needing more than just what I need to get by. Pray about it and see what God does!

“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.”