Forty Days of Prayer - Day 39

Thursday, October 8

Day 39

Peace with others

Sharing the good news brings God’s peace

Please read Acts 4:5-22

But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:19-20

Believe your own eyes. This is what Peter and John were telling everyone who had seen the lame man get healed. Even when the skeptical Sanhedrin ordered them to stop talking about Jesus, the two apostles answered back, “...we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Oh, how I want to have that type of passion for sharing His story!

Actually, we are in the same position as Peter and John. We have seen Jesus. We have experienced how his blood has covered our sins, saving us, redeeming us, healing us. When we experience His touch on our lives, it changes us…and that is undeniable. We know beyond the shadow of a doubt that we are children of God. This knowledge, that we belong to God and that He is always taking care of us, gives us peace deep in our spirit. We cannot know true peace like this without the Salvation of God. But when we do, we know we will experience it forever and we should have a passion for others to experience the miracles and the peace of our God as well. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).

Are you like Peter and John? Can you not stop telling everyone about your Jesus and God’s love? They had experienced Jesus and the miracles he worked in their lives and they HAD to share! It was who they had become; they had a new identity in Christ - to share His story. Before Jesus went back to heaven, He told his disciples, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). Let’s follow their example. No excuses—like, “I’ll do it later,” or “I’ve got think about what I am going to say.” The time is whenever God opens up an opportunity for you to share how He has transformed your life. The moment is whenever you ache when you hear what someone else is going through. Don’t worry about what you are going to say; just be willing to open your mouth and speak - trusting that the Holy Spirit will give you the right words to touch that person’s heart.

Please continue to pray for the unbeliever whose name you wrote down on Monday. Of course, ask God to let them see His light in your life but also pray, intentionally, for an opportunity to share the gospel with him or her. Pray for the boldness, like Peter and John, to speak up. When we are completely in tune with God, His Spirit prompts us to speak up, and what comes out of our mouth are the exact words that God want us to speak.

For further reading: Acts 1:8; Acts 2:1-6; 1 Corinthians 2:2; 2 Corinthians 3:5, 6, 12

Precious Lord, Thank you for the examples of Peter and John to remind us that we need to be vocal about our experience with Christ. Please align us with your Holy Spirit so that we can sense when it is the right time to speak up and share what we know about Jesus with others. Thank you for salvation and for letting us know first-hand what Your peace feels like. Make us bold so that we can share the gospel with those around us so that they, too, can have Your peace. In Jesus’ Name and for the Father’s glory. Amen