“And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” Acts 4:31
Do you notice what happened when Peter, John, and their friends prayed? Two very important things took place.
They were (1) filled with the Holy Spirit, and (2) they continued to speak with boldness.
Do you remember what they had asked for a few verses before this passage? They had prayed for boldness (v. 29), and our text today clearly shows how God granted that request in answer to their prayers! They did not keep quiet but continued to speak with boldness.
When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we have to talk about Jesus because the main job of the Holy Spirit is to draw attention to the greatness of Jesus and what he did in his life, death, and resurrection.
Isn’t it great knowing that God loves to answer prayer? He especially loves to do so when our prayers are completely in line with the things he loves. We see that in today’s text. God loves to empower his people by the Spirit to tell other people boldly about Jesus.
Read
- Do you put all of your hope in God? Do you believe that he will answer your prayers?
- Are there ways you want to grow in boldness? How can you do that?
Pray
Our Father, thank you so much for answering our prayers when we ask for things that you love. May our heart be your heart. May our desires be your desires. My our loves be your loves. Please give us more of your Holy Spirit, so that we, too, can be bold like the people in our text today. Amen.
This devotion is adapted from Week 9 of the Acts Study Guide.
