When the church prays, God makes ordinary people brave.
Kingdom prayer does not stay indoors. In Acts 4 the church has just been threatened and ordered to stop speaking about Jesus. Notice what they do not pray for. They do not ask for safety or relief. They ask for boldness. And God shakes the room, fills them with the Spirit, and sends them back out speaking the word.
This is the outward turn of the series and it builds off of where we finished last week. God’s will is for his people to take the good news of the king and his kingdom to the world around them. Praying the kingdom come becomes asking God for the courage to carry the gospel into a world that may push back. This week speak honestly about the real fears people have of our own moment, the cultural pressure, the cost of being openly Christian at work and in the neighbourhood.
This week ties directly into the culture of evangelism and invitation that we long to see God increase in our church. It also teaches us that boldness does not require a certain type of personality. When the God’s people pray and the Holy Spirit fills us we have all that we need to face our fears and fulfill our mission.