There are quite a few
"stock" prayers that believers use in their lives. You know, the “Hail Mary” that the
Catholic Church uses, the Serenity Prayer and "The Lord's Prayer" to name a few that Christians use
in different times of their lives. Did you know that there are quite a
few different prayers in the Bible, besides the Lord's Prayer? I'm sure
you know this. But one struck me to my core. It is in the book of Acts.
Sovereign Lord, you made the
heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.
You spoke by the Holy
Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our Father David:
Why do the nations rage and the
people plot in vain?
The kings of the earth take their
stand and the rulers gather together
against the Lord and against his
Anointed One.
Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate
met together with the Gentiles and
the people of Israel in this city
to conspire against your holy servant Jesus,
whom you anointed. They did what your
power and will had decided beforehand
should happen. Now, Lord, consider their
threats and enable your servants to
speak your word with great boldness. Stretch
out your hand to heal and perform
miraculous signs and wonders through the name
of your holy servant Jesus.
Acts 4:24-30
Let's look at this for a
moment. They begin by acknowledging that God is Sovereign.
Sovereign
(noun)
1. a monarch;
a king, queen, or other supreme ruler.
2. a person
who has supreme power or authority.
The believers acknowledged his
authority as supreme power. He "made" or created the heavens,
earth and the seas and all that is in them.
Then they pray:
"You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our Father David..."
"You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our Father David..."
The
Holy Spirit spoke through the mouth of King David! Yes, that is Old Testament. Yet, it seems the
Holy Spirit was at work even then.
Remember, David was “a man after God’s own heart”. He was the one that God anointed to be King
of Israel after Saul.
Why do the nations rage and the
people plot in vain?
The kings of the earth take their
stand
and the rulers gather together
against the Lord and against his
Anointed One.
Here
David was speaking of himself, but apparently the believers took it to a
different level and attributed this to the Lord Jesus, as the “Anointed One”,
which He was. The prayer continues to talk
about the government leaders, unbelievers and the religious leaders of the day
that had plotted against Jesus to crucify him on the cross, which was part of the
plan that he and Jesus had talked about beforehand. God knew and Jesus knew
what needed to happen in order for creation to be bought back from Satan.
These
believers have acknowledged who God is, what He has done and now they ask:
Now, Lord, consider their threats
and enable
your servants to speak your word
with great boldness.
Stretch out your hand to heal and
perform miraculous
signs and wonders through the name
of your holy servant Jesus.
I have prayed this prayer. I changed it a bit with regards to government officials, etc. to make it relevant to my world today. This is one powerful prayer, if you want to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. You go in His name, with His authority because He said that we would do signs, wonders and the miraculous. If we want the world to change and for those around us to know Jesus, we must pray this prayer!
Then
we can show the world who Jesus is.
He is God.
He is Power.
He is Love.
