Check out all the previous Acts readings here.
Acts Reading Plan | Week 3 | Day 2
Prayer
Galatians 5:5 says, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” A key part of keeping in step with the Spirit is taking time to spend with God each day and listening to Him. Take a moment to calm your mind and body and then pray, asking Him to speak to you, that you might keep in step with the Spirit.
Bible Reading: Acts 3:11-16
Read these verses three times slowly.
While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.
Reflection & Questions
Yesterday, we read of an amazing miracle performed by Peter and John. The word spread quickly about what happened and people are gathering around Peter and John, amazed what they did. But Peter wants them to be very clear how this happened (and how it didn’t). “Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?”, he says. It wasn’t by their own power, or their godliness. How did it happen?
Twice Peter answers how he was healed: By the name of Jesus and faith in Him. Power wasn’t found in them or their own godliness. The source of the power was Jesus. Jesus was alive and active! And He is to this day. There is power in Jesus’ name!
If we’re not careful, we make praying in Jesus’ name a nice way to round out a prayer. It rolls off our tongue without us even thinking. But when we pray in Jesus’ name, we pray in the Name that is above all names, the Name that carries all authority on heaven and earth. His name is powerful – it changes things. Let’s pray confidently and boldly in His powerful name!
- Do you pray with confidence and make bold requests? Why or why not?
- Has prayer become a rote exercise with little true expectation of change? How does today’s reading challenge you?
Prayer
Think through areas of your life that you have stopped praying for boldly in Jesus’ name, and take time to pray anew for those situations with a renewed sense of the power in Jesus’ name.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
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Questions?
Ed Applegate
