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Acts 4: 29 “Now, Lord, consider their
threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.” (NIV)
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“Hurray . . . for adversity.”* |
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If you had just been in front of a judge (for the second
time) and were ordered to stop what you were doing; and if you knew that as
soon as you left the court, the officials would be plotting against you, what
would you pray for? Honestly? I would pray for the Lord’s protection. I would
(nobly) ask that the Lord touch the hearts of my enemies, but I would be
looking for deliverance.
Peter and John and their merry band were remarkable. They asked for “more
boldness, more power, and (essentially) more trouble!”* It’s not
as if they hadn’t already spoken boldly – that’s why they were in trouble in
the first place.
In Mark chapter
13, Jesus predicted their persecution and promised that the Holy Spirit would
speak through them. He did not offer them deliverance from the trials ahead and
they were fully aware that their persecution could end if their preaching ended.
I wouldn’t say that it is wrong to pray for deliverance
from persecution. But how many times have you prayed to speak with boldness – even
though you have never faced persecution? Could you ask for boldness even in the
face of mere inconvenience?
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American Christians often let our cultural environment dictate how openly we will publicly share our faith.* |
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