1/23/2026

Day 23:

The Apostles’ Prayer

Acts 4:23–31

After Peter and John were arrested, interrogated, and threatened by the Sanhedrin for proclaiming the name of Jesus, they were released with a clear command: “Do not speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:18). The warning was real, the danger escalating. Yet when they returned to the believers, the church did not scatter in fear or strategize for survival. They prayed. And what they prayed reveals the anatomy of a surrendered people.

Their prayer begins not with fear but with worship: “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them” (Acts 4:24). Before addressing the threat, they reaffirmed God’s supremacy. Surrender starts here—recognizing that God is not merely powerful but sovereign, ruling over creation and history. When we see God clearly, human threats lose their ultimate authority. As Scripture reminds us, “The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19).

They then interpret their persecution through Scripture, quoting Psalm 2: “Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?” (Acts 4:25–26). Rather than seeing opposition as failure or abandonment, they recognized it as fulfillment. Herod, Pilate, the Gentiles, and Israel conspired against Jesus, yet they only did “whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place” (Acts 4:28). This is deep surrender theology: God’s purposes are never threatened by human rebellion. Even resistance is folded into His redemptive design. The cross itself proves this truth—“He was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23).

Then comes the most striking part of the prayer. They do not ask for protection. They do not ask for relief. They do not ask God to silence their enemies. Instead, they pray: “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness” (Acts 4:29). This is surrender at its highest level—choosing obedience over safety, faithfulness over self-preservation. They ask not for escape from danger but for courage within it.

Their prayer echoes Jesus’ own teaching: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake… Rejoice and be glad” (Matthew 5:10–12). Surrendered people do not pray to avoid the cost of obedience; they pray to pay it well. They understood that silence would be disobedience, no matter how reasonable it seemed. As Peter had already declared, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

They also asked God to act powerfully: “While you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus” (Acts 4:30). Surrender does not lower expectations; it heightens them. They believed that God would confirm their witness with His power, even in the face of hostility.

God answered immediately: “The place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31). God did not remove the threat—He reinforced their courage. He did not quiet the opposition—He amplified their witness.

This moment also reveals the strength of corporate surrender. They prayed together, were filled together, and stood together. The church advances not through isolated bravery but through unified obedience.

What pressures are tempting you to stay silent? Where have you prayed for comfort instead of courage? The apostles show us that surrendered prayer does not ask God to make obedience safe—it asks Him to make us faithful.

“Surrender prays not for the absence of opposition, but for the boldness to obey God when obedience is most costly.”