Episode 79 - The Acts Series: Don't Stay Quiet (Acts 4:23-31)

The fastest way to lose your courage is to believe the loudest voices get the final word. We pick up Acts 4:23–31 right after Peter and John are threatened and ordered to stop speaking about Jesus, and we watch what the early church does next: they run to their people, lift their voices together, and pray a Scripture-soaked prayer that asks for boldness instead of safety. 

As we read the believers’ prayer out loud, we slow down and notice the pattern: they start by declaring who God is, they remember Psalm 2 and the reality of spiritual opposition, and they make a clear request. “Grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,” and then they ask God to stretch out His hand to heal, with signs and wonders in Jesus’ name. That mix of courage and compassion reframes what Christian witness is supposed to look like, especially when culture, policies, or peer pressure try to keep faith conversations quiet. 

We also bring it into real life: fear of speaking up in a public school, in the military, in an office, or around family members who shut you down. We talk honestly about intimidation, the inner voice that says you are unqualified, and why we believe the Holy Spirit is the difference between silence and steady, loving truth. We close by praying for you to be emboldened, share a listener encouragement story, and tell you how to support the mission if you want to give back. 

If this encourages you, subscribe for more Bible reading and practical prayer, share the episode with a friend who feels pressured to stay quiet, and leave a review so more people can find Healing Strong’s Around the Word.

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Transcript

The Real Fight Behind Silence

SPEAKER_01 0:02

That's exactly what these leaders wanted them to do. They wanted to shut them down and be quiet. Right.

SPEAKER_02 0:08

So it's the enemy. Yeah, yeah. It's not even the leader, it's the enemy. It's the enemy.

Welcome And Passage Setup

Reading Acts 4:23-31

SPEAKER_01 0:11

It's spiritual. Keep quiet. Cancel culture, be quiet, censorship, all of that kind of stuff. Right. Keep you quiet. So Holy Spirit, please embolden me to speak truth. Hey there, my name is Cheryl, and you're listening to Healing Strong's Around the Word. We're friends sitting around the table that love God's Word, and we love learning from Him in His Word. Each episode, you're going to hear us reading a Bible passage out loud, and then we start discussing it. Today we are reading from the book of Acts, chapter 4, verses 23 through 31. So grab your coffee, grab your Bible, and join us around the Word. Starting off on Acts chapter 4, verses 23. This is called the believers' prayer, at least it says that at the top of mine. So, Marion, you want to start us off? Sure.

Peter And John’s Warning Context

SPEAKER_00 1:08

All right, verse 23. When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of your our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, Why did the Gentiles rage and the people plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed.

SPEAKER_01 1:48

So this was um this was Peter and John, too. The day that we're talking about is Peter and John. And this is after they had just had that experience where they were held overnight, and then they were basically preaching to the the chief of priests and all of them.

SPEAKER_00 2:04

And they told them not to speak.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

Yeah, they told them like hold hold the phone, don't don't say anything more. We're we're gonna we're commanding you not to speak anymore. So they've been told what to do, and they're like, Yeah, right. But anyway, that now they're they're they've been released and they are going back to where their own people. Right. Yeah, um, and reporting what the chief of priests and the elders has said. So it's a little, I mean, a little alarming, like they're telling them not to tell people about Jesus, you know.

A Prayer For Boldness And Healing

SPEAKER_00 2:36

And then it goes on in 27. For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place, they're praying to the Lord. And now, Lord, look upon their hearts and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

SPEAKER_01 3:19

What a great prayer. I love it. And um uh I like too how he starts off. He's he's reflecting who God is in the very beginning. So we go back to like Jesus did and hallowed be thy name. Yeah, even um King Jehoshaphat, when he was up against an army, the first thing he does is he basically talks about how awesome God is.

SPEAKER_00 3:41

Yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_01 3:42

Well, when Jesus taught us how to pray in Matthew, right? Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So you made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them. You spoke the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David. He's teaching them. This is a whole bunch of new believers, I'm assuming. Right. You just had about 5,000 people.

SPEAKER_00 4:09

Probably Jews and Gentiles, which is the cool part. So they don't know all the prayers they had brought been brought up praying, like, Blessed are you, Lord our God, ruler of the universe.

SPEAKER_01 4:20

So he's telling them this is what our father David, like, meaning not his little father, literal father, but David, King David in the Bible prayed. Right. This is actually coming from I think Psalm 2, verses 1 through 2. That actual those verses I'm pulling it up real quick. He's actually quoting it one through two, Psalm two. It says, Why did the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his anointed one. It says, So, yeah, verbatim, he's he's quoting from Psalm.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

Now, anointed one, I think that is the word Mashiach, which means Messiah. Anointed one.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

So we start off telling God about how amazing He is. Oh, and then let's kind of mention the problem here. All these people are coming against Jesus, or you're these rulers, everything. This is not new. I mean, it was predicted back in the day.

When God Answers With Power

SPEAKER_00 5:22

And so it finishes. And when they had prayed, 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.

SPEAKER_02 5:37

So I think that's a good reason why we should write down that prayer on a little card and keep it with us at all times. It had so much power, it manifested by an earthquake. Yeah, yeah, shook the ground. Another Holy Spirit now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. That's all the prayer is let let us be bold, make us bold. That's a short little prayer, and it moved the earth.

SPEAKER_01 6:11

And we're talking about it now. I mean, we are benefiting from them being bold, bold, right? You know, going and telling their friends, uh, you know, I go back to any of the listeners too, that you know, you've got people that you work with uh at your office, school for you, school, yeah uh the law office, me with the military. Yeah, people that you can talk to and just tell them what God has done for you and be bold when we invite the Holy Spirit in. See, that's what they were doing too. They were inviting the Holy Spirit in. And he literally came. And it says it filled, they he filled them right then and there. And then they spoke the word of God boldly. So we got to ask.

SPEAKER_00 6:55

And he promises when we ask that the Father will give us the Holy Spirit. Yes. If we ask, he will give it to us.

SPEAKER_01 7:04

Yeah. So whenever you have a problem and you don't know how to handle it, first of all, invite Holy Spirit in, ask for that, ask for that wisdom, ask for that guidance. But let's say you have a you want to talk to someone and tell them about what God has been doing. Ask the Holy Spirit to come and make you bold, speak through me.

SPEAKER_02 7:25

Holy Spirit is is like the inside job. Yeah. He comes in. Jesus, we could see with our eyes, you know, humans could see him with their eyes. But Holy Spirit is comes inside of all of us. It's the the inside worker.

SPEAKER_00 7:37

Yes. Right. Yes. Jesus came in the flesh, but he said it was good that he was going to the Father because then sin back. Yes. The comforter to live in us, dwell in us.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

I think it's funny too. Um, as sometimes people are like, oh, God knows everything. I don't need to tell him anything in my prayer or whatever. But he's clearly stating like kind of what's going on right now, too. And I don't know if that's for the new believers in the room, too, because God is omniscient. He knows what's going on. He knew what David was talking about back in the day, too. But Peter and John or Peter is is talking here about what's been going on and that we need your help right here. We don't want to squelch the fire that has happened. Right. You know? And so God like doubles down, brings in the Holy Spirit on them all. You know? It's almost like a second Pentecost. Right. Shaking and shaking, yeah, because did the in Pentecost did the the ground shake? I don't even know. There was a loud wind. The wind. Earth, wind, and fire. So now we've got uh the earth part on this one. It's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

Oh, yeah, and flames of fire above the Pentecost.

Bold Faith In Workplaces Today

SPEAKER_01 8:49

What does this encourage you guys for your life today? What can we having this prayer here? What can we do with this? What's the application, in other words?

SPEAKER_02 8:59

How easy it should be. And it's just not. I get all cluttered up in my head and think, oh, there's just I can't do this. It's just too much. It's not just a simple prayer of Lord help me to be bold. How hard is that?

SPEAKER_00 9:14

It reminds me at the end of Ephesians 6, 10 through 20, as the armor of God. And at the end, he says, Pray for me that I would continue to share boldly.

SPEAKER_02 9:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:28

Pray that I will continue to share boldly.

SPEAKER_02 9:30

Paul was like the most bold person I know. And Paul taught taught us that the reason we can come before God's throne boldly is because of what Jesus did. Right. He gave us the right to come boldly before the throne.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

Yeah, Jesus was raised from the dead, seated at the right hand of the Father, which means he is ruling from heaven, and everything is placed under his feet. And he's told us to ask for the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and He will give it.

SPEAKER_02 10:03

And be bold because of Jesus. So what what I get mixed up a lot of times is, Angie, how dare you? You're this, you're that, you're pitiful at this, you're pitiful at that. Who are you to speak to these people? Wait, who's even telling you that though? Yeah. It's the intimate. That's what I told you. It's not coming, it has nothing to do with that.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

Well, mine is mine is a fear. I work in a school. It's public school. You're not supposed to share your faith.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

With me in the military, too. I'm, you know, very much the same thing, or you'll be working with people of different faiths. Right. And um, but I don't want to be excusing or just being quiet because that's exactly what these leaders wanted them to do. They wanted to shut them down and be quiet. Right.

SPEAKER_02 10:52

So it's the enemy. Yeah, right. Yeah, it's not even the leader, it's the enemy. It's the enemy.

SPEAKER_01 10:56

It's spiritual. Keep quiet. Cancel culture, be quiet, censorship, all of that kind of stuff. Right.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Keep you quiet. So, Holy Spirit, please embolden me to speak truth.

Listener Story And How To Donate

SPEAKER_01 11:11

Yeah. In fact, let's pray it right now for those listeners in out there that went, Lord, we just uh pray right now for anyone that's listening that just um wants to be bolder in their faith, wants to be able to talk about you to their friends, to their family, to their coworkers. Father, they don't have to be any special um uh schooled person. Like I said, these were unschooled people, like a fisherman. Lord, we pray for your boldness. We invite in Holy Spirit upon each of us right now to speak what you want said to the people that you need to get a message out to them, Father. We thank you for the boldness and the power that comes by the name of Jesus Christ. In his holy name we pray that amen. Amen. I hope you are encouraged to boldly go out and talk to your friends, your coworkers, your family, anyone you know about Jesus. Just like these apostles did back in the day. You can do it today too. And before we go, I would like to share a little testimonial that we received from a lady named Vanessa. She's one of our podcast listeners. So, Vanessa, I hope you're listening right now. Vanessa wrote us and said, I've been following the Healing Strong podcast. I really enjoyed it because it has uplifted me and is helping me stand firm in the fire I'm in. And I know that God is always with me. Vanessa, you just made our day by saying that. And yes, Jesus is that fourth man in the fire with you. And it sounds like you've been getting some great encouragement from the story of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Anyway, thank you so much, everybody, for joining us today for Healing Strong's Around the Word. And if you are encouraged by our mission, what Healing Strong Does, and you'd like to give back, you can donate at HealingStrong.org slash donate. You could actually be what's called a hope giver. Anyway, I thank you so much for joining us. And until next time, remember, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.