Acts 4:23-31
Peter and John went back to their own people after being put in jail, questioned by the Jewish leaders, and ordered not to speak of Jesus anymore. Once back with other believers they told what the leaders had said and then they prayed. They didn't do what so many of us do when we feel that mistreated by others. They didn't gripe and grumble about the people who mistreated them; they didn't talk ugly about the leaders. No, they went back and prayed with the other believers in unity with each other and with God. They didn’t let the threats from the Jewish leaders stop them. They didn’t let the apparent futility of the task God had given them stop them. They prayed.
What they prayed was different from our prayers as well. Often, when confronted with obstacles, we pray and ask God to remove those obstacles. We ask God to smooth the way for us, but that is not what the early church prayed for that day. Together they prayed that God would enable them to speak His word with boldness.
Unlike the early church, we don’t face a threat of crucifixion or being jailed and beaten. The only thing we face is rejection, but we allow that threat to hold us back from speaking Jesus when the Spirit leads us and presents us with an opportunity. We need the boldness that the early believers had if we want to reach our world for Jesus like they did. And, having that boldness means we need to be praying for it in unity with one another and in one accord with each other.