There are many powerful prayers in the Bible. One of my favorites is near the end of Acts 4. After Peter and John were released from their imprisonment and intimidation at the hands of the Jewish religious leaders for preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, they joined a group of their close companions. Once there, they reported all the words and threats of the religious leaders. The first response of these believers? It was not to wring their hands in fear or organize a minority protest. It says (v. 24):
And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord…
There are a host of lessons to take from their ensuing prayer, but I will briefly mention three – three lessons that should speak loudly to us in the church in 2021. First, they praised the Lord God as the sovereign Creator, who was allowing even the hard things to occur according to His purpose and plan; or as they prayed (v. 28): to do whatever Thy hand and Thy purpose predestined to occur. Second, they requested in Jesus’ name for God to give them boldness to fulfill their responsibility to proclaim the word of God while trusting Him for the outcome. And third, they were available to God to let Him answer their prayer through them.
And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak the word of God with boldness (v. 31).
It’s a great example to me of remaining focused on God and His purposes in the midst of opposition, and God enabling His people to turn that opposition into opportunity.