Communing With the King | Acts 4:23-31

On January 2, just a few weeks ago, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin made what looked to be a completely routine tackle on a Bengal’s wide receiver. Hamlin stood up from the collision, took a step back towards his huddle, and then suddenly collapsed. Hamlin’s heart had stopped. On-field medics rushed to him, performing CPR for 10 minutes before being rushed by ambulance to the local hospital where his life was saved. This week, Hamlin was released from the hospital, the miracle of life celebrated, a happy ending to an altogether traumatic event.

During those 10 minutes that Hamlin was on the field, a hush seemed to fall over the entire stadium, and really across the watching world. Players for both teams began taking a knee, heads bowed in what appeared to be prayer. Announcers, commentators, media heads all began the oft-used chant that their “thoughts and prayers” were with Damar Hamlin—#prayersup and #prayingforHamlin all began to make the rounds on Twitter. One courageous sports anchor actually paused the show and publicly prayed for Hamlin. Scandalous.

It seems that even now, in 2023, particularly when some catastrophe strikes or some tragedy happens, there is an inclination, almost an instinct within the human heart, regardless of religious affiliation, to look to the heavens and beg for help. From those NFL players on the kneeling on the field, fearing for their friend and teammate to George Bailey in Martini’s bar at the end of his rope begging, “Show me the way, God!”, the inclination to appeal to some higher power seems to be hard-wired in us. There come moments in our lives when we just realize we do not have the power to do anything. And it is in those moments that we look to the heavens, longing for help. 

But if that is the instinct of even the unbelieving world, how are you and I as followers of Christ to understand and practice the grace of prayer. What is it? How should we do it? How often should we do it? These are honest and good questions.

In Acts 4, we have in focus a small but growing gospel community in Jerusalem. Just a few months earlier, Jesus had been crucified, died, buried, rose from the dead, and had ascended to heaven. This small group made up of the 12 disciples (now Apostles) and their small band of followers have just recently received the mission of God to be witnesses to the ends of the earth and the immense gift of the Holy Spirit to empower them to accomplish that mission. We are seeing the church of Christ at it’s infancy. Acts 4 doesn’t describe the birth of the church…more like it’s first attempts at walking. And like all children, mine included, learning to walk includes a lot of falling. This small Gospel Community is beginning to experience the persecution that Jesus said they should expect, but also experiencing the favor of God as their spirit-inspired speech is adding more and more to their number daily.

And in our text this morning, Peter and John have just been released from the custody of the Jewish Council. They had been seized because they were preaching the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and that was just too much for these leaders…the same leaders that had murdered Jesus; a fact that Peter would not let them forget. And upon their return to the community they do a most unexpected thing…they prayer. I believe the Lord would have us be reminded of the incredible grace that is prayer from these early Christian’s example.

If you’ve been a follower of Christ for any length of time, I assume and hope that you have some conception of what prayer is and the benefits of it to you. So today, this sermon is not meant to reveal some new and novel information, but rather my humble aim is to, at the beginning of this new year, rekindle the often neglected habit of prayer, and to reorient our vision of prayer outside of ourselves and up to the glorious one to whom we pray. And in order to do that, there is no other place for us to look than to the very Word of God. 

So, in reverence and honor of that very word, would you stand if you are able as I read Acts 4:23–31.

I think it might be difficult to find an area in the Christian life as intimate, as vulnerable, as simple as prayer. The august Christian poet George Herbet described the nature prayer in this way in his famous sonnet entitled “Prayer”:

Prayer, the church’s banquet, angel’s age, God’s breath in man returning to his birth, The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage, The Christian plummet sounding heaven and earth.

The spiritual discipline, the habit of prayer is an incredibly intimate component of the Christian life. It is, as Herbert says, “God’s breath in man returning to his birth…” and “the soul in paraphrase.” It is also an incredibly versatile component of the Christian life. It can be done in public, corporately from a pulpit, in small gatherings like in our Missional Communities, at our kitchen tables with our families, and can even be done in the quiet of our hearts. It engages our deepest affections, our longings, our confessions, our hopes, our petitions. 

And at the foundation of this prayer recorded for us in Acts 4, and what ultimately is the foundation of every prayer, is the God to whom the prayer is addressed. Praying may be a ubiquitous action of every human, but the efficaciousness, the confidence, ultimately the hope of the prayer itself relies solely on the one to whom that prayer is addressed. 

And in this text, we see clearly that these believers, in the wake of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, addressed their prayers to God, the Sovereign Lord of the universe.

With that in mind, here is what I believe is the main point from this text regarding prayer… Because of the finished work of Christ, we can go to the Sovereign God in prayer and receive grace, boldness, and more of the Spirit.

This morning, we’re going to start by looking at the basic reality, the grace that is prayer; what it is, how it is possible, and why it’s worth cultivating, and then we will examine 3 lessons we can glean from this prayer in particular.

The Grace of Prayer

Few definitions of prayer improve on that of John Bunyan:

Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God hath promised, or according to his word, for the good of the church, with submission, in faith, to the will of God.

Like I said, few could improve on that wonderfully thorough definition. If Bible reading, meditating on the Bible as Greg preached on 2 weeks ago, is primarily the engagement of mind and thought, prayer is primarily the engagement of the heart and soul. In prayer, we expose ourselves—not just our minds, but our hearts, our very souls—to God.

And at the core of our praying is a core assumption about who God is; namely, he is a communicative God. The very first sentence in the Sovereign Grace Statement of Faith is this:

Our eternal, transcendent, all-glorious God, who forever exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is by his very nature a communicative being.

At its essence, when we pray to God, we are participating in a conversation. And this is a conversation that we didn’t start! On our own, apart from the initiative from God, we would not pray at all! Well, we certainly wouldn’t be praying to the triune God of the Bible. But what a grace it is that God has not left us on our own! He has not left us in the dark, but has revealed himself to us in his Word and ultimately in Christ.

The very God who, by his word, created the world, sustains the world, reveals his Son to us, desires to hear our voice as well. What a marvel! What other God is there who is so transcendent, powerful, majestic, and yet personal in desiring to know us and to hear us? David Mathis, in his excellent book Habits of Grace, says this…

Prayer, for the Christian, is not merely talking to God, but responding to the One who has initiated toward us. He has spoken first…His voice breaks the silence. Then, in prayer, we speak to the God who has spoken. Our asking and pleading and requesting originate not from our emptiness, but his fullness. Prayer doesn’t begin with our needs, but his bounty.

We, as Christians, have access to God himself. We have his ear! This truly is a majestic and shocking reality of the Christian life…that the King of the universe would take the time to care about me. So the great secret about prayer is that in prayer, the real blessing is not what we get from God, but the fact that we get God himself. That is scandalous. 

It is scandalous only if we know who God is—holy, perfect, glorious—and who we are in light of his holiness—sinful, rebellious, wretched. How often do we stop and consider what is actually happening when we pray to God? The thought of me, a sin-ridden human being, communing with the holy, holy, holy God causes me to respond as Isaiah did when he had a vision of God in his glorious throne room in Isaiah 6:4–5:

[T]he foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

This seems more appropriate. Before the perfectly holy God, I have nothing and I can not stand before God, let alone talk with him, let alone have him hear me and care for me and engage with me and my life. 

But this scene is not the end of Isaiah’s story…and it is not the end of our story. Look at what happens next in Isaiah 6:7–8…

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Something had to happen for Isaiah to stay in the presence of God, for him to be able to commune with the Holy King of the Universe. From the altar, the angel brings a live coal, symbolizing the substitutionary sacrifice of someone on the behalf of Isaiah that atones for his sins and reconciles him to the Father so that he can commune with the King.

Of course this beautiful prophetic scene depicts the very gospel that we love and cherish. And it is vital for us to never remove the gospel of Jesus Christ from our prayers. The death of Christ on our behalf did a lot of things, but one of the greatest realities is that it made it possible for sinners to commune with God himself through prayer. Ryan preached so effectively last week on the immense joy of Christian fellowship from Hebrews 10:23–25. Well, hear the verse that immediately precede those in Hebrews 10:19–22…

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

This way that has been made by Jesus is a new and living way. The presence of God is no longer contained in the temple, where only the high priest can bring petition on behalf of the nation—the blood of bulls and goats do not compare with the precious blood of the Son of God, shed for you and for me, so that we now, because of his sacrifice and through his Spirit can commune with God at any time, anywhere through the incredible grace of prayer.

And so, because of the finished work of Christ, we can and we must heed the call of the author of Hebrews to draw near to God in full assurance of faith, washed clean by the blood of Jesus. We can draw near to God because Christ drew near to us. So, question for you, dear friends…what is your attitude when you draw near to God? Is it one of confidence, or one of shame and guilt? When you pray, do you ever stop and consciously consider the gift of grace that it is? 

We can not and will never be able to cultivate a habit of prayer by just telling ourselves, “I need to pray more.” Trying harder and harder will never work and will only lead to more frustration, more guilt, more shame, and ultimately less prayer. But when we stop to consider—whether alone in our rooms, corporately in our MCs or here at church, around our dinner tables, and even in tucking our kids in bed—what it is we are doing when we pray and who it is we are communing with, by the help of the Spirit, we may slowly find ourselves progressing in this particular are of our sanctification. 

Oh, may we never grow tired of pondering the incredible abundance of mercy and grace that has been poured out on us in our salvation, chief among those, communing with the very king who saved us.

And to the early Christians, the ones in our text this morning in Acts 4, the gospel of Jesus Christ was not just some ancient event. They were living in the very present and real fallout of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. They may not have had the inspired writings of Paul yet to give detailed theological explanation of the gospel, but they did know Jesus—they did walk with him, talk with him, commune with him—and as John, one of the characters in Acts 4, would later write, they had “seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth…[and] from his fullness they had all received, grace upon grace.”

So, there are incredible lessons to be learned from these early Christians and how they practiced the habit of prayer. And I believe there are 3 lessons for us this morning that will help us in our endeavor to commune more and more with God himself. 

They Prayed to the Sovereign Lord

Remember the setting. These Christians are just beginning to experience the early forms of the persecution that will come to mark the church for following centuries, and really the rest of history. Opposition and persecution are beginning to ramp up…and they address their prayer to the SOVEREIGN Lord.

Here at Emmaus Road Church, one of our core theological convictions is that of the sovereignty of God—the bigness of God. Once again, from our Statement of Faith…

From all eternity, God sovereignly ordained all that exists and all that occurs in his creation, in order to display the fullness of his glory.

Or as God himself says in Isaiah 46:8–11…

I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’...I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.

Now, a common critique to this position is that if God is so sovereign, how do we make sense of all the evil in the world? Are we really free agents, or are we robots just doing whatever God makes us do? Or, more pressing for our purposes, if God has already determined what’s going to happen, what use is prayer? Why petition anything to God if he’s already made up his mind to bring about and purpose what he will? Fair questions. 

But if we look at what these Christians did in Acts 4 and how they prayed, we see that they also understood God to be a sovereign God. We see it not just in their address to him as the Sovereign Lord, but also in the prayer itself.

In their prayer in Acts 4, they recognize that he is the creator of all things (v. 24), he is the one who speaks in the Bible through human agents by the Holy Spirit (v. 25), he is the one who anointed Jesus to be the suffering servant (v. 27), and it is he, God, who (v. 28) predestined Herod, Pilate, and all the Gentiles and the Jews to put to death Jesus, just as he had planned. The very death of the innocent Son of God was always the plan, and ultimately, it is God himself who brought it all about. That’s a big view of God. But look at v. 29…

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

They are not only praying to the Sovereign Lord, recognizing his predestining action, but are appealing to him to act against the genuine evil intentions of those who are persecuting them. These Christians have no issue reconciling the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. They acknowledge that the one they are praying to is in control, but they appeal to him for protection and continued action. And it is clearly not one of futility…but one of faith. Far from being the antithesis of their prayer, it is the foundation of their prayers.

In writing on the sovereignty of God, J.I. Packer says it bluntly, and it’s worth quoting at length…

I do not intend to spend any time at all proving to you the general truth that God is sovereign in the world. There is no need; for I know that, if you are a Christian, you believe this already. How do I know that? Because I know that, if you are a Christian, you pray; and the recognition of God’s sovereignty is the basis of your prayers. In prayer, you ask for things and give thanks for things. Why? Because your recognize that God is the author and source of all the good that you have had already, and all the good that you hope in the future. This is the fundamental philosophy of Christian prayer. The prayer of a Christian is not an attempt to force God’s hand, but a humble acknowledgment of helplessness and dependence. When we are on our knees, we know that it is not we who control the world; it is not in our power, therefore, to supply our needs by our own independent efforts; every good thing that we desire for ourselves and for others must be sought from God, and will come, if it comes at all, as a gift from his hands…In effect, therefore, what we do every time we pray is to confess our own impotence and God’s sovereignty. The very fact that a Christian prays is thus proof positive that he believes in the lordship of God.

And these Christians believed in the lordship of God. In their prayer and petition, they appeal to the only one who can actually do anything about their situation. If there is going to be any help, it will come from God himself. Like the psalmist in Psalm 121:1–2…

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

We thank God for our salvation and we beg God to save the ones we love…and we do this because only he is the one who can bring the dead to life. Only he can make us alive together with Christ! And this reality should be far from frustrating…it should be relieving. I am not able to save myself because, in my sin, I would never choose God. But because he is solely responsible for my salvation, he alone, then, gets all the glory. So as we pray, may we never lose sight of the one to whom we pray. The second lesson we can learn from this prayer is…

They Prayed the Word.

Look at what these believers use as the heart, the engine of their prayer. After acknowledging God as creator and ruler, they turn to his Word to fuel and govern their prayer. They knew their Bibles. And they knew their Bibles well enough to know what particular word, what passage would fit and correspond with their present difficulties and engender in them hope…they turn to Psalm 2. 

Interestingly enough, Psalm 2 is also a prayer of David, who likely wrote this psalm in the midst of his own difficulties…feeling like there are enemies on all sides, and knowing only God could save him from them. So these early Christians understand their bibles well enough to know how to use it to fuel their prayers and govern their petitions.

This is a very helpful practice in developing our practice of prayer. A good way to prime the pump of our prayers is to read the word, meditate on the word, and then pray the word. These early saints let the word of Christ dwell in them richly, and it gave direction and movement to their pleas. So in order to rightly fuel the habit of grace of prayer, we must also be cultivating the gracious habit of reading the word, meditating on the word, saving the word, and through the Spirit, apply the word to our lives and turning to God in prayer.

So as you read your Bibles, linger on the words. As Greg preached a few weeks ago, meditate on these inspired Words, for this is the very revelation of God to you. And the more you understand it as God’s invitation to you in conversation, the more you will be able to respond back to God in prayer.

Finally, there is a third lesson from Acts 4 that we can learn in our prayers…

They Prayed for Boldness in Their Gospel Witness.

Paul, in Philippians 4:6–7, says this…

[D]o not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 

In prayer, it is right for us to honor God for who he is, to celebrate him and his glorious and marvelous works, to thank him for all he has done and has promised to do for us in Christ Jesus…but it is also appropriate to ask God, to petition to him, for our needs.

Once again, we cannot escape the sovereignty of God. Notice, the Acts 4 Christians were not praying to Ceasar for help, or to the local ruling authorities, or to John and Peter, but were praying to God! He is the giver of all good gifts. He is the fount of living water and the bread of life which alone can satisfy. Like David in Psalm 2, these Christians cry out to God because he alone is in control.

But notice what the Christians ask for…they don’t ask for different circumstances or immediate alleviation of their suffering, but rather for bold witness as they suffer. They understood the mission given to them by Jesus himself in Acts 1:8 to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth—a mission that is ours as well—and so they begged God to keep his word and to continue to supply them with the faith to keep going despite their circumstances. As Albert Mohler puts it…

[These Christians] were praying, “Lord, in the face of opposition, don’t let us weaken. Don’t let us compromise. Please keep working out your purposes, and please keep us working for your purposes.”

Or as Calvin puts it…

[T]hey crave at God’s hands that he will beat down the cruelty of the adversaries; yet not so much for their own sake, that they may live quietly and without vexation, [but] that they may have liberty to preach the gospel in all places.

They pray for boldness to preach the Gospel. How often is that the center of our prayers? How often is my prayer time filled with petitions to God to make my life easier, more comfortable, less vexation? Rather, as this text shows us, in the midst of growing social opposition and state-sponsored persecution, we can go to God and receive from him grace and boldness.

And notice what happens after their prayer…the Lord grants their request of continued boldness in witness, but also manifests his presence among them by filling them with the Holy Spirit. Their simple requests is met and they receive even more then they asked…they are given abundance, and ultimately the thing that fuels all of their bold witness—the Spirit himself.

Because of the finished work of Christ, we now have the Spirit. It is through him that we are able to pray at all, and it is him that we should desire, for from him come all the fruits of the Spirit, and through him we are empowered to boldness in our witness. 

Do you have an unbelieving friend, but don’t know how to bring up the gospel to them? Pray for more of the Spirit. Do you feel terrified to talk to your unbelieving family member about who Jesus is and what he has done? Pray for more of the Spirit. Is there someone in your missional community that is needing counsel and help? Pray for more of the Spirit.

Through prayer, we have access to the sovereign King who created the heavens and the earth. And he has acted decisively to deal with our sin, and he has poured out his Spirit among us so that we can know him, talk with him, and be empowered by him. 

Let this be the year that we all, by God’s grace, re-orient our vision of the God to whom we pray and ask him to fill us again with his Spirit, to the end that we might receive grace and boldness to make and multiply his disciples here in Sioux Falls and to the ends of the earth.