BIBLE BREAKFAST (#341) 02/29/20 (eng)
“Do not be ashamed to pray…”
? 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.”
▪️I cannot fully know how all of this happened and how it seemed: “…when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken.” Whether it was God who shook the place or their loud prayers did this, I believe in how it was written, that the place where they were was truly shaken like an earthquake.
▪️It will be interesting to ask Peter, John, and the others who were there how it all happened when we get to heaven.
▪️What can we learn from this example today?
▪️Of course, the fact that the first church “when they had prayed, the place was shaken” is not a doctrine for prayer. No one can say or demand that it is absolutely necessary to pray exactly this way so that the place would shake and then say that if it doesn’t happen that something is wrong with your prayer. Absolutely not.
▪️This is not a requirement of prayer. This is just an example of what happened back then to those who were praying. However, there is an important lesson for all people who pray.
▪️The main question is not if they prayed loud or quiet, although based on the words of Luke it was more likely than not that they prayed loud and all together, but the important thing is the effort and unity with which they did this.
▪️This is exactly the lesson for us today taken from the prayers of the first church.
▪️Nowadays, when you sometimes have to observe prayers, it is especially noticeable when several people are praying about something and it seems that they don’t have words of prayer. A lot of them just stand silently. Whether they are too shy to pray or they have nothing to pray about, one thing is certain- the effort and unity is very meager.
▪️Regarding “when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken”, let it be not in the literal sense, but in a figurative, spiritual, etc. somehow more diligent, with the spirit of unity, together, passionately, it’s hard to say in moments like these.
▪️I would like to say to myself and everyone, let’s imitate the example of the first Christians, and they have things worth imitating, and be more diligent in our prayers! This applies especially to the prayers of today’s young generation. Not only the youth, but especially.
▪️Do not be ashamed to pray! Do not be stingy with your words and your feelings in prayer. God is worthy of our diligence and vocal expressions in prayer. Be ashamed to commit sin; be ashamed to speak bad words with your tongue, but do not be ashamed to pray.
▪️It’s not necessary for the place to physically be shaken when we pray. Although, if this happened in their time or if it happens in our time, it’s okay. It will probably remind us about diligence. It is not necessary to create this phenomenon artificially, or on purpose.
▪️My desire and call is so that with our diligence and unity in prayer, the enemies barriers is the spiritual world may be destroyed.
▪️Apostle Paul said: “not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.” (Romans 12:11) This applies to everything, even our prayers.
▪️May our conversations with God not be boring, frugal, hard, tedious, shy. Instead, let’s be aware of how we pray and talk to God so that everyone will want to know God!
? Have a good day and diligent and unified prayers! (With prayer, Valeriy Bayko).
? P.S. If needed, share this with others. Thank you for the re-post.