“…grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, … And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:29, 31)
I believe it not to be a naive thing to trust in the absolute validity of the Holy Bible, and that every word of it has been forever settled in the Father’s mind. I equally trust that it is the holy duty of every child of God to study the Scriptures that they may be approved of the Father. No doubt, through our neglect much of the Spirit’s availability has been set adrift, and to a great extent the Christians’ and churches’ power has diminished sadly below poverty levels.
Modern prayer is filled with shallow self-centered “give me” fraudulent attempts to gain the Father’s ear. The “old paths” of prayer were ever mindful of our unworthiness and thus sought the true mercies of God. The word “servants” identifies the willing obedience of the praying ones to submit in all things to the glory of the Father and the Son. Their desire was to perform the work of the Kingdom in a fashion suitable to the sons of God – in holy power. They sought not their own, but yearned to be filled of Holy Spirit.
God’s work cannot be accomplished by the works of the flesh. It demands the Christ-centered willing spirit to be endued with power from on high. Heavenly occupation demands heavenly muscle. The saints are not at liberty to set foot on the battleground ill-equipped. Hence, it demands due diligence to plead with the Father for the appropriate empowerment for the task at hand.
As Paul and Silas prayed the presence of the Holy Spirit shook the very foundations of the jail to the saving of souls. In our text when the church prayed with a believing mindset to obtain courage for preaching the word unto the saving of souls, the filling of the Spirit once again quaked the assembly. Has God changed? Where are the consecrated ones praying for a shaking of their assembly?–By Dr. Manuel Seymour, Sr. (Please pray for Bro. Seymour who is in poor health.–HDS)
