The Power of Prayer

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Acts 4:29

Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,

NKJV

Acts 4:29 is a portion of the prayer offered up by Peter and John after their release from captivity under orders not to speak of Jesus anymore.  As we see from this passage, instead of timidly cowering in the corner and remaining silent, they asked for boldness to speak the Word of God in spite of the threats.  After seeing Jesus brutally crucified on the cross, seeing him after his resurrection, and being filled with the Spirit of God, these men had incredible boldness and believed that the power of their prayer could trump any attack.

Last Sunday I saw the movie ‘God’s not Dead 2’ and highly recommend it.  Not to spoil it for anyone that has yet to see the movie I will not give away any details but just say that the movie deals with one person’s fight for their right to speak the Word of God.  Even though the movie is a fictitious account, it is based upon the very real fact that our right to openly speak the Word of God is constantly under threat and a reminder of the need to constantly pray for boldness to speak God’s Word.

In John 8:12 Jesus stated that He was the light of the world.  John 1:1 tells us that Jesus is the Word.  Psalm 119:105 says the Word of God is a light unto our paths. 

We live in a dark world and only the light of Jesus and the Word of God provides the light this world needs.  We therefore as Believers must pray for boldness to speak the Word of God in spite of any threats or persecution we may encounter.  Unfortunately, at times our prayers offered up to God seem ineffective and powerless.  So let us take a moment to look at three instances in the Bible where the power of prayer brought victory.

1)      Exodus 17:8-16 – This passage of scripture is a reminder of the importance of interceding for our leaders.  There are constant reminders that leaders in all aspects of our lives are human and full of flaws as we all are.  Just as Moses arms became weak and began to fall, causing the armies of Israel to be defeated, our leaders can become weak and fail.  However, when we come beside them in prayer just as Aaron and Hur propped up Moses arms so Israel could prevail in battle, we spiritually lift up the arms of our leaders when we lift them up in prayer.

2)      Psalm 51 – This is the prayer of repentance offered up by David after his sins of adultery and murder as recorded in  2 Samuel 11.  David, like us all was flawed and sinned.  However, David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22) demonstrated by his swift repentance when confronted with his sin.  The Bible also reminds us that a prayer of repentance offered up to God always results in forgiveness (1 John1:9).

3)      Acts 5:17-42 – Soon after being ordered to cease preaching Christ, the Apostles find themselves imprisoned in answer to their prayer in Acts 4:29 for boldness to speak the Word of God in spite of threats.  However, God was also faithful and miraculously arranges for their release (Acts 5:33-42).  Their boldness was not lessened by their arrest and miraculous deliverance for they continued to boldly teach and preach Jesus as the Christ (Acts 5:42).

Prayer is a powerful weapon in the arsenal of all believers in Christ.  Unfortunately, however, life can become busy and sadly, we often allow time for prayer to slip away due to our busy schedules.  Therefore, in light of the power of prayer, I encourage everyone to make an appointment with God each day and spend a few minutes in prayer and the Word each day.

Prayer offered on behalf of those in leadership over us has the power to strengthen them and cause them to make wise decisions.  Prayers of repentance offered when we become aware of some sin in our lives always results in forgiveness and our experiencing the grace of God.  Finally, prayers for boldness in speaking God’s Word will be answered with a boldness that ignores threats of harm if we continue to speak out.  In addition, just as God miraculously freed the disciples, God can miraculously intervene on our behalf and provide a miraculous path for us to speak the Word of God with boldness where no path seems to exist.