Acts 4 Devotional

Praying Under Threat

“Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.””Acts 4:12 (BSB)

Peter and John are arrested for proclaiming the resurrection in Jesus, and the rulers demand to know by what name they healed a lame man (4:1-7). Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, answers plainly: by the name of Jesus, whom they crucified and God raised, and salvation is found in him alone (4:10-12). The council sees men with no formal training speaking boldly and recognizes that they had been with Jesus (4:13). The rulers threaten them and let them go.

What the believers do next is the heart of the chapter. They pray to the Sovereign Lord who made heaven, earth and sea, and they remember that even the plot against Jesus only carried out what God's hand had decided beforehand (4:24, 4:28). They do not ask for the threats to disappear. They ask for boldness to keep speaking his word (4:29). The place shakes, and they are filled with the Spirit (4:31). Opposition is real, but it never sits above God's throne. You can bring every threat to him and ask for courage instead of escape.

To think about: What pressure or threat could you bring to God today, asking for faithfulness in it rather than only a way out?