“One Voice United in Prayer” is the theme for this year’s National Day of Prayer. I love that!
Why? It reminds me of the words of Luke in Acts 4:31, “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”
The voices of the early believers in Jerusalem were united in prayer and as a result there were three spiritual earthquakes that reverberated across the land…
1. The building was shaken by the power of prayer.
“the place where they were meeting was shaken…” Imagine God saying “AMEN!” to your collective prayers as a congregation by grabbing the church building and shaking it like a snow globe.
2. The believers were shaken by the power of the Spirit.
“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit….” Prayer is the portal for the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s in our intercessions and supplications that the Spirit of God empowers us for action. He swaps our self-dependency for pure reliance on Him. He shakes our souls with his indwelling presence and fuels us for the mission ahead.
3. The city was shaken by the power of the Gospel.
“they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”
Too many times we try to reach out to others before we reach up to God. But, in the words of Hudson Taylor, “We should speak to God about men before we speak to men about God.”
The Holy Spirit prepares the way for proclamation. He gives us wisdom (James 1:5,6), boldness (Ephesians 6:19,20) and opportunities (Colossians 4:2-4.)
May the National Day of Prayer be a springboard to a rhythm of prayer all year long. And may it shake you so that you can shake your city like a snow globe with the good news of Jesus Christ. May the epicenter of this divine earthquake start in your heart!
Praying with you,
