The Believers Pray for Courage
23 As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. 24 When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: “O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—25 you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant, saying,
‘Why were the nations so angry?
Why did they waste their time with futile plans?
26 The kings of the earth prepared for battle;
the rulers gathered together
against the Lord
and against his Messiah.’[e]
27 “In fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed. 28 But everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will. 29 And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. 30 Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.
The Believers Share Their Possessions
32 All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. 33 The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. 34 There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them 35 and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.
36 For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. 37 He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles.
4 comments:
and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Father this is our request as well.
Blessing
cas
I am sure the apostles felt very lonely at times. I am sure they were traveling alone living with strangers. Today is the first day of what could be one of the lonliest periods in my life. I am moving to the west coast today. My family does not move until August. I know at this point I will not see them until April 1. That is hard for all of us. Pray that we each provide an extra measure of grace to each other in this time. Deborah has no support structure in the Philly area, and this is a lot to leave with her.
CAS, I echo your quote and prayer concerning boldness...
JMB, thanks for being honest with your blog...will continue pray for your family and your time away from your family. Be strong and depend on HIM. I'll make sure to check in with any of the Bundy's I see at church.
It seems every week I hear of someone or some family that has a serious illness such as cancer in our circles of people especially at church. I know the Slavin's teach Sunday School and she's battling cancer...Sean Warner's sister is battling a rare form of cancer as well...the Lawrence family has a brother-in-law who's battling stomach cancer...Father, I pray that your healing hand would touch these people's lives and heal them. I know you have the power to heal and cure not just our spiritual health but also our physical health as well. In Jesus name, I pray.
JMB, I will be praying for you all and checking in with Deborah to see if there is anything we can help with.
Blesings
cas
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