Two weeks ago I asked the question, “What in the world happened here?” as we looked at this passage and examined what exactly it means to be filled with the Spirit. I pointed out four things, namely, that it is something that is repeated, something that is accompanied with power, something which results in Christ-exalting ministry, and something for which we should long and yearn and pray.
This week I want to ask the question, “For what reason did the Spirit fall?” Was there anything about the way these believers prayed, or the desires of their hearts, or a state of their minds that put them in a good position for the Spirit to fill them (as occurs in verse 31)? I think there is, and I want to point this out tonight.
Before I get into this, however, let me also say that this is not a formula for how to be filled with the Spirit. It is impossible to put God in a box, and it is not my desire to do so. Therefore, these are simply principles that are visible in this story and are echoed in the prayers and desires of many other saints throughout Scripture. Thus, my method tonight will simply be: 1) pointing out a characteristic in the prayer of these disciples and 2) seeing if that fits with the principles of the whole of Scripture.
The first thing I want to point out is that they were praying. For some reason, God has chosen to display his power through the prayers of his people. Edwards described this in his treatise, “The Most High a Prayer-Hearing God,” writing, “God has been pleased to constitute prayer to be antecedent to the bestowment of mercy; and he is pleased to bestow mercy in consequence of prayer, as though he were prevailed on by prayer. When the people of God are stirred up to prayer, it is the effect of his intention to show mercy; therefore he pours out the spirit of grace and supplication.”
In other words, because God has chosen to make prayer the channel through which he pours out his grace, then when people are praying we can assume that God’s intent is to pour out his grace upon them, and that is why he has called them to prayer. And I think Scripture supports this tremendously. Therefore, if after the message two weeks ago, you were driven to pray and yearn to be filled with the Holy Spirit, then you can assume that God is burdening you in order that he may pour out his grace on you.
And we see this repeated as we look back at Acts chapter 2. What were the believers doing before the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost? Acts 1:14 says, “These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer …” Therefore, let us not underestimate the power of prayer in the life of a believer. Nor let us underestimate the power of persistent, continual prayer in relation to being filled with the Spirit. Recall Jesus’ words in Luke 11:9-13, “And I say to you, ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it shall be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion will he? If you then, being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
And right before Jesus says this, he is commending persistence. Therefore, I say to you persist in prayer for the power of the Spirit. Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. Pray, pray, pray, asking God to fill you with his Holy Spirit, even as these disciples prayed. And do not lose heart.
Now, let me (finally) point out why I think their prayer was answered.
1) They believed that God was able to do what they were asking.
In verses 24-26, they begin their prayer simply saying that God is the great Creator and asking what can come against him. They exalted the greatness of God. They put their eyes on his greatness before even mentioning their problems or request. In fact, they spend five verses of their prayer telling God how great he is and two verses making their request. Does this not serve as a model for our praying today?
And the way they speak of his greatness is by quoting Scripture. As they prayed, “It is you who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them …” they were quoting Scripture found in Exodus 20:11 and Nehemiah 9:6. And as they spoke of the foolishness of men trying to come against God, they quote Psalm 2:1. They were simply reflecting back to God what his word says about him. That is worship.
When Moses would pray for the Israelites in Exodus 32 and Deuteronomy 9, he would say, “God, you brought them out by your great power.” What they were doing would be the equivalent of us beginning our prayer by saying, “Lord, you are the one of whom it is written that you are able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we would ask or think.”
Now, why would we pray that way? I think we pray that way to remind ourselves that God is able to do whatever needs to be done. We want to know that our God is great when we pray to him, and so we remind ourselves and exalt him by praying in such a manner.
With these disciples, I think that they were thinking to themselves, “Jesus told us that we would be his witness in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. But now men have told us not to witness in his name, period. Therefore, let us reflect on Jesus’ greatness in relation to theirs and then ask God to overcome them by his power.” And that is a beautiful way to pray. When things come up against you, weigh them in relation to the power of God and then ask God to overcome them by his power.
Here is a practical application: Let’s say you’ve been praying that God would fill you with his Spirit, but you doubt that he can do it because of your sometimes lack of hunger, your weakness, and your seeming unworthiness. Then as you begin to pray you can say, “O great and mighty God, who made me alive in Christ and placed me in your kingdom when I was dead in my sins, hated you, was your enemy, was in the power of the evil one, and loved darkness overcome these lesser things now and let me get a taste of your kingdom by filling me with your Spirit.” That’s exalting God’s greatness that you may grow in faith in him, even as you pray.
2) They acknowledged the sovereignty of God.
That is to say, they acknowledged his control in the world. Listen to their words in verses 27-28. “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Thy holy servant Jesus, whom Thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Thy hand and Thy purpose predestined to occur.”
Acknowledging the sovereignty of God is good in praying at all times. Let me list a few reasons why.
When you admit that you are not in control but God is, it strikes a blow against the pride of the flesh. Man likes to be in control and so speaking of God’s sovereignty says to God, “I am not in control, you are.”
And by bringing humility to ourselves, we create a channel for God to pour out his grace. This occurs because (as Peter says) “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” If you are prideful, then God must oppose you, but as you humble yourself, he will lift you up. Therefore, we should strive to keep in mind how lowly we are in relation to God and acknowledging God’s sovereignty at all times helps this cause greatly.
In other words, as you acknowledge God’s sovereignty in prayer, you are saying, “Therefore, if this [whatever you are requesting] is going to happen then you are the one who is going to do it because you are utterly in control.” You are no longer looking to yourself to be able to do it or anyone else. You have placed your request in the hands of the one whose plans cannot be thwarted—our sovereign Lord.
In other words, no matter what happens, you know that it must pass through the hands of God. And that God is your Father. Therefore, as you are wanting to go take the gospel to an unreached people and in fear are praying about it, as you acknowledge God’s sovereignty, it releases you from the fear of something happening to you outside of his reach.
Therefore, in praying for God to fill you with his Spirit, it is good to acknowledge his sovereignty in order that you may be reminded that you are not in control and you may rest in the fact that it is in God’s hands.
Let me show you how they did this. Remember, in Acts 1:8, Jesus tells his disciples that they are going to be his witnesses all over the world (“even to the remotest part of the earth”). Now, why would God want them to do such a thing?
The Psalmist [amidst many other similar Scriptures] speaks of it in Psalm 96:7-10 as he writes, “Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name; bring an offering, and come into His courts. Worship the Lord in holy attire; tremble before Him, all the earth. Say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns …’”
The Psalmist cries out for all the earth to recognize the glory of God and worship him. That is the fuel of missions. We are his witnesses in all the earth in order that all the earth may worship God.
Therefore, when the priests and elders threaten them not to speak anymore in Jesus’ name, they are telling them not to spread the glory of God to all peoples. And, therefore, they are issuing an attack on the glory of God.
Now, this is a big deal because God is very passionate about his glory. And it is evident in all of Scripture. That is why when Moses prays in Deuteronomy 9:25-29 he tells God not to destroy the Israelites because the Egyptians would say that God was not able to bring them into the promised land. Moses was saying, “They will show disdain for your glory.” Thus, God did not destroy the Israelites.
In the same way, in our passage tonight, the believers say in verse 29, “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Thy bond-servants may speak Thy word with all confidence …” They are pleading with God to behold the attack on his glory and (because of his passion for his glory) to grant them confidence to speak in spite of these threats. Let your prayer for the empowering and filling of the Spirit be driven by a passion to spread God’s glory in spite of the world wanting to stop such a thing and, consequently, battling against God’s ultimate passion.
Now, I mention this because I think God delights in his children longing for courage. In fact, in Revelation 21:8 when God is speaking of those who will be thrown into the lake of fire, he lists the cowardly first. He says, “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
But why should God have such a hatred for cowardice and such a delight in courage. I think it is because of what godly courage is. It occurs when an individual who (despite his known weakness and inability) is choosing to rely on the grace and strength of God in order to step forward in obedience.
In other words, God does not delight in someone who thinks he is able to do something but, rather, someone who knows he cannot but chooses to trust by faith in the grace of God.
I am convinced that’s why these disciples came back and prayed as they did. Sure, they had just stood strong and proclaimed Jesus in the face of persecution, but they knew because of their weakness and inability that fear could grip their hearts and paralyze them at any moment, therefore they pray that God would give them confidence so they can step out again in obedience. And God answers that prayer because he loves it when his children display courage by asking for his strength in order that they might live obediently to his commands.
We said two weeks ago that this is what occurs when someone is filled with the Spirit. Every time you read of someone being filled with the Spirit, they exalt Jesus Christ. Therefore, doesn’t it make sense that if you are longing to exalt Christ in ministry and you are praying that God would fill you with the Spirit, that you would be in a pretty good position to be filled with the Spirit?
So, I end with a challenge to examine your heart. 2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” I think we can equate those “whose heart[s] [are] completely His” with those who long more than anything else to live lives that exalt their Lord Jesus Christ. Are we there? I asked the question early this summer if we should pray like them—meaning if we should request for God to give us signs and wonders. I ask the question tonight, “Can you pray as they did?” Do you believe that God is able to do all things? Do you acknowledge God’s sovereignty in this world? Is your passion to courageously fight for the glory of God by exalting Christ in ministry?
If not, then pray that God would break you, draw you to himself, and fill you with his Spirit—until you know that he has. And then ask him to do it again and again and again, for the advancement of his kingdom, for the sake of showing his greatness, and for the sake of spreading the joy of his glory to all the peoples of the earth.