Have you ever found yourself in this place? You have a friend that you want to tell about Jesus. You know that they don’t have a relationship with God but have never had the courage to bring it up. Every time that you start to work up the confidence, your thoughts are flooded with “What if they think I’m weird?”, “What if I don’t know what to say?” or “What if they stop being my friend?” Ultimately, you decide that it’s better not to say anything. You’re frustrated with yourself because you know what you need to do, but you don’t have the boldness to do it.
If you resonate with that scenario, then know that you’re not alone. When we come to Acts 4, we find the early church in a situation where they need boldness. Except for them, the stakes are higher. If they share Christ, they wouldn’t just be losing a friend…they could lose their lives. The Jewish ruling council had just given the order that Peter, John, and the church could no longer speak in the name of Jesus. If they broke this charge, it could result in a beating, imprisonment, or even death.
For most people, if they hear a threat like that, they would start praying for God to remove the opposition. What the church did was completely different. They did not pray for God to remove their problem; instead, they prayed for boldness. The incredible reality about this account is that God immediately answered their prayer. What was God’s answer to their prayer for boldness? The baptism of the Holy Spirit. Every person in that meeting was filled with the Holy Spirit, which enabled them to speak the word of God boldly.