Acts 4:29-31 “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, (30) by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." (31) And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”
The above passage of scripture, describes to us the church in Jerusalem being filled with the Spirit. This was the same church that had been filled with the Spirit on the day of Pentecost only a few weeks before. So why were they filled again? The context of this account is that Peter and John had been arrested for preaching the gospel, and on being released, they had been commanded by the Jewish leaders to no longer teach in the name of Jesus. As a result of their run in with the Jewish authorities, the church had gathered together to pray. And so, this account is a record of what transpired at that prayer meeting. This incident took place a number of weeks after the day of Pentecost, when as you will recall, one of the phenomena that occurred on that occasion, was the sound of a rushing mighty wind from heaven which filled the whole temple where the saints were gathered (Acts 2:2). On this occasion, one of the phenomena that occurred was that the power of God physically shook the building that they were in. The scripture goes on to say however, that all the saints present at that prayer meeting were also filled with the Holy Spirit. The reason they were filled with the Spirit, was in answer to their prayer, so that they could proclaim the word of God with boldness. And so, we see the same New Testament pattern on this occasion, i.e. the saints were filled as the Spirit willed, and they were filled for a specific task.
Michael E.B. Maher
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