The theme for day four is God delivering us from evil from Acts 4. The reality in the church is that we have opposition when we’re preaching the gospel and this is illustrated very well as Peter and John were told in
Acts 4:18 And they called them back and commanded them not to speak or to teach at all in the name of Jesus.
They responded that they must obey God and not man in
Acts 4:19–20 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God, you decide! 20 For we are not able to refrain from speaking about the things that we have seen and heard.”
but they also went and told other believers in
Acts 4:23 And when they were released, they went to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
The church gathered together and they prayed in
Acts 4:24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices with one mind to God and said, “Master, you are the one who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things in them,
and it says that after this, they were filled with boldness to go back and do again the very thing that had caused the resistance in
Acts 4:33 And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on them all.
In order for us to claim a community for Jesus Christ, we must overcome opposition. This opposition comes in many forms but mainly it results from strongholds that are systems of thinking that are attitudes, beliefs, expectations that people have developed over time. These strongholds come from the culture that we live in, the way that we believe, and the traditions we have been taught. To change these things we often need strong teaching of the truth’s in God’s word as Peter and John proclaimed. But it takes spiritual warfare to dismantle those strongholds and replace them with divine strongholds. Our primary weapon for accomplishing this is Prayer.
There are many things that we can call strongholds but there are six key areas that oppose the movement of the Holy Spirit in a city. In each of these areas, there’s a specific prayer emphasis that if applied with enough persistence will overcome the opposing force and replace it with a divine stronghold, a system of attitudes, beliefs, and expectations that allows God’s continual rule and reign in the territory.
- The stronghold of religion relates to worship based on the traditions and doctrines of man. This includes pagan religions, man-centered gospels, and religious acts done for the sake of appearance. This stronghold is dismantled through the prayer of seeking God, yearning to see God’s face not just seeking His hand. As we seek after God with all our hearts, He establishes a divine stronghold of His manifest presence which is where true religion resides. Jesus said in
John 4:24 God is spirit, and the ones who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
- The stronghold of pride stems from our feelings of independence and self-sufficiency. This is a real challenge in our culture because we rely on ourselves to get things done. We have many sayings like “I did it my way”, “pick yourself up by your bootstraps”, “you can be anything you want to be”. We rely on our location or education or experience or on our innovative programs to draw people into a relationship with Christ. When we pray in brokenness before God, recognizing that we are nothing apart from Him, He plants his stronghold of salvation in our church.
- The stronghold of accusation which relates mainly to our treatment of pastors and leaders in the body of Christ but also to the way we treat other people. God takes it personally when one He has called is abused or taken for granted. The prayer of honor breaks this. When we pray protection and blessing over our shepherd it crumbles this stronghold and invites the favor of God to dwell in Its Place.
- The stronghold of prejudice is built on attitudes of racial or cultural or denominational superiority where we set ourselves above others in the body of Christ. Where there is unity through the prayer of agreement God pours out his blessing and the stage can be set for revival.
- The stronghold of judgment is felt were self-righteous Christianity sets the spiritual standards based on performance or works. As we pray the prayer of compassion, the grace of God flows soothing the wounds of criticism and rejection.
- The stronghold of fear arises out of the issue of control. Political powers, ungodly people, Satan and his principalities, and world systems all oppose the movement of the spirit because they are afraid of losing control over people and situations. The prayer of faith dispells fear and invites God to establish this stronghold of peace.
Acts 4 is a call to serve an eviction notice on the forces of evil that dwell in the city as we pray in the divine strongholds of God. By definition, a stronghold of any kind takes time to develop and is subsequently difficult to take down. But once divine strongholds are established the Holy Spirit can dwell in a place and produce fruit for the kingdom.
The Word Guiding Prayer for the Day
John 15:20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will keep yours also.
2 Thessalonians 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, who will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
Acts 4:29–30 And now, Lord, concern yourself with their threats and grant your slaves to speak your message with all boldness, 30 as you extend your hand to heal and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
Acts 4:32 Now the group of those who believed were one heart and soul, and no one said anything of what belonged to him was his own, but all things were theirs in common.
The Needs
Bind
Bind in Jesus name the powers of darkness resisting the gospel.
Matthew 18:18-19
Pray
Pray that man’s strongholds will be displaced by gods divine strongholds of his manifest presence salvation favor blessing grace and peace hold onto
Psalm 90:17
- Pray seeking God
- Pray humbly, in brokenness
- Pray a prayer of honor
- Pray for unity and agreement
- Pray with compassion
- Pray in faith
Rebuke
Rebuke distractions as in
Acts 6:4
Request
Request boldness for your pastor and church leaders. Pray for wise decisions, the message they are preaching, and boldness in confronting issues such as prejudice and economic oppression. Seek courage for all to face criticism and overcome doubts.
Acts 4:31
1 Thessalonians 5:19
Consider
Consider these verses on behalf of the spiritual leaders in your community.
Colossians 4:2
Luke 18:1
1 Corinthians 15:58
Galatians 6:9-10
Psalm 27:14
Thank God
Thank God for his power in giving our testimony to the resurrection of Jesus Christ
Acts 4:33
Answers
Record your praise reports.
Acts 5:42 Every day, both in the temple courts* and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the good news that the Christ was Jesus.
Day 4 Reading
- Acts 4:1-37
References
- 1. Teykl, T. (Dr.). (1997), Acts 29: 50 Days to Invite the Holy Spirit. Prayer Point Pr. https://www.amazon.com/Acts-29-Days-Invite-Spirit/dp/1578920450/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ref_=nav_signin&&linkCode=ll1&tag=prayny-20&linkId=f53533b082e7ab3aa9a206bf08fd85db&language=en_US