Prayer – Revival – Evangelism (Part 2)

(Acts 4:31)

“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.”

Prayer

“And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken…”

  1. “And when they had prayed…”

    F. B. Meyer said, “The greatest tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.” How long has it been since you talked to the Lord?

  2. “…the place where they were assembled together…”


    1. “…the place…”

      In Acts 4, Peter and John were arrested for teaching and preaching about Jesus. After threatening them, the religious officials “let them go” (21). Verses 23-24 says, “And being let go, they went to their own companions…So, when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and (prayed)…”.

      Leonard Ravenhill wisely asked, “Where do you go when you are let go?” When you are “let go” from an atmosphere of hostility at work, school, or other activities, where to you go? Do you seek to be with other believers? Do you go to church?


    2. “…where they were assembled together…” Unity and togetherness characterized the church in Jerusalem (Acts 2). We can do more together than we can apart.
  3. “…was shaken…”

    When a grief-stricken and sin-sick Isaiah entered the temple to pray, “the posts of the door were shaken” (Isaiah 6:4).
Pray:

Dear God, see our grief, hear our prayers of repentance, and stir us out of our apathy and lethargy. Shake us to the core, loosening our hold on the things of this world. Make our man-made foundations quake under the weight of your glory.

REVIVAL

“…and they were filled with the Holy Spirit…”

Do you feel something is missing in your life? Pray, repent of sin, and then you will experience the infusing of the Holy Spirit. Let Him control you. That is revival. In the book of Acts, revival was the norm, not the exception. The same should be true of us, today.

Revival is a continuously, repeated action. When Paul said, “…be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18), the Greek tense (present imperative) literally renders it as “keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit’. Being filled with the Spirit is not a “one and done” deal. It should be an ongoing reality.

For Christians, there is one baptism of the Spirit, occurring at the moment of salvation, and many fillings of the Spirit. Just like a car needs to be constantly refueled, the believer needs repeated fillings of the Spirit. Yesterday’s filling won’t get you through today.
Daily, pray for revival.
Prayer revival 2 Image 1
Prayer revival 2 Image 2

EVANGELISM

“…and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”

The consequence of revival is a powerful witness to the lost world. When a Christian receives the power of the Holy Spirit, he or she takes the Great Commission seriously. More importantly, unsaved people take professing Christians more seriously when they see the change Jesus has made in our lives. We have credibility. That is effective evangelism.

Jesus told His disciples: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). “Lord, may it be so in my life and the ones I touch.”

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