Explosions

Grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness (Acts 4:29)

Lately I haven’t been zooming past words like these quite so fast. They reach out and snag my toe, dropping me to the floor in a thud of surprise.

This startling prayer in Acts is coming from a group of believers who started praying after Peter and James got themselves arrested and threatened. Who’d figure they’d be detained for healing a lame man?

Actually, Peter and James got themselves in trouble for boldly speaking to the crowd that understandably gathered to look at this formerly-lame man who was now jumping and leaping on legs of steel. Peter grabbed an opportunity and began to tell the people about Jesus' power to heal our bodies - and our souls.

Before long, in rushed the religious leaders and tossed the pair in prison. However, because of the impromptu speech, the number of believers in Jerusalem swelled to 5,000.

A night in prison didn’t dampen Peter and James’ speech. They went even further in their boldness, telling the religious folks: there is salvation in no one else but Jesus. And what were the religious leaders going to do? There stood the handicapped man who was now walking and announcing his healing loudly. So they threatened Peter and James, and sent them home.

The believers gathered in prayer. What would we have prayed for? Probably protection from the religious leaders. Maybe we’d ask that they have a change of heart. Maybe we’d ask for more miracles so they’d be convinced. We might ask for mercy if we got arrested.

But what do these believers pray for? More boldness. They wanted in on the action, too.

What these believers were doing shook the religious foundation of the day. They were radicals and revolutionaries. Sadly at this point in history, they were not fighting the government or the pagans, but the religious folks who could ignore healings to maintain the traditions they had developed.

Traditions. Boldness. Choices.

The believers asked for boldness and guess what they got? They were shaken and filled and spoke the word of God with boldness. God responded with an explosion of permission and power. Ask and you will receive.

When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:31)