“Now, Lord, enable Your servants to speak Your word with great boldness.”Acts 4:29

As we dive into our new series, Hungry for God, one aspect we should consider as Jesus followers is this: are we hungry to see others come to Him? Please indulge my overuse of bold font throughout this devotional, but I am struck by the Book of Acts’ emphasis on just plain talking to non-believers about Jesus. Here’s my conclusion (obvious, I know):

Making people hungry for God starts with telling them about God. 

Acts opens with Jesus’ ascension and the apostles’ “going and telling” as He commanded (Matt. 28:19-20). As they shepherd the new Church, miracles occasionally accompany their proclaiming. At Pentecost, dramatic tongues of fire prefaced Peter’s first sermon (Acts 2:3). Amazement ensured over a cacophony of languages being spoken (2:4). Non-believers hungered for answers: “what does this mean?” (2:12). Immediately, Peter spoke: “let me explain this to you…listen carefully” (2:14 22). His lengthy sermon “cut [them] to the heart,” made them even hungrier: “what shall we do?” (2:37). 3,000 dying - and now hungry - souls were saved that day.

Soon enough, the Jewish religious leaders became “greatly disturbed” over the apostles’ “teaching and proclaiming about Jesus. 5,000 men heard [Peter and John’s] message and believed” (3:11-4:4). Those “greatly disturbed” rulers jailed Peter and John. In their defense the next day, Peter and John continued their witnessing. Aware of their growing sway over the people (“everybody living in Jerusalem knows them”) and of the danger of more public speaking, the rulers released Peter and John but commanded them “to speak no longer to anyone in [Jesus’] name” (4:17). They have to stifle the growing hunger.

You likely know how that goes over: Respectful but defiant, they proclaimed, “we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). 

Upon reporting back to their growing group of followers, Peter and John prayed about the historical, organized, ongoing opposition to God: “kings and rulers [have always taken] their stand against the Lord…Herod, Pontius Pilate, [and Israelites] conspired against Jesus” (Acts 4:26-27). Clearly, this crowd understood opposition, expected it, experienced it. So what did they pray for? Deliverance? Peace? Maybe vengeance on God’s enemies?

No, hungering to be more effective speakers to non-believers, they prayed, “enable Your servants to speak Your word with great boldness.” Immediately and unmistakably, God answered. “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly…with great power they continued to testify to the resurrection of Jesus” (Acts 4:31,33). 

Continue reading the book of Acts to see multitudes growing hungry as the apostles “fill Jerusalem with their teaching” (5:28). Despite opposition, “day after day, the apostles never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news” (5:42). 

God answered a prayer, not for deliverance or vengeance, but for boldness in speech, and the church hasn’t stopped growing since. Are we hungering to reach others? Are we prepared to ask God to help us speak boldly and start some hunger pains?