Day 7: Vain plots
“You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of Your servant, our father David: ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?’“ (Acts 4:25; Psalm 2:1).
Before Your throne we bow, Heavenly Father, for Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; You are exalted as head over all (1 Chronicles 29:11).
It was to Your Sovereignty the apostles appealed when they encountered opposition, and threats, and punishment for "speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20):
They raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “You made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?’“ (Acts 4:24-25; Psalm 2:1).
Unchanging God, You still reign and rule in might, and power and majesty. Every word You speak—every purpose You ordain—is still the basis for all authority in the universe. We often remind ourselves of the promise You made to Your ancient people, no weapon forged against you will prevail (Isaiah 54:17).
Teach us to live practically in the light of that assurance. Bring us to the complete trust and dependence we see in the lives of the early apostles. They prayed for boldness in the face of opposition, and surrendered themselves to Your sovereign will—confident in Your power, Your wisdom, and Your goodness.
They understood that even in the most dire circumstances they had ever encountered:
When Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel... to conspire against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed (Acts 4:27),
You remained in control, and it was Your Sovereign will that was being executed:
They did what Your power and will had decided beforehand should happen (Acts 4:28)
Father, teach us to walk in such trust—such fearless abandon to Your care. Help us to rest in the security of the definitive words spoken by Your servants and Your prophets, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says.”
Change our perspective and our prayers. Teach us to pray more for strength, and less for "solutions." Teach us to pray more for endurance and less for ease. Teach us to pray more for boldness, and less for bailout.
You have shown us in the lives of the apostles that You are pleased to bring relief, and release, and rescue from raging opposition and vain plots. But Your will has decided beforehand where You will lead us for Your purposes, and for our good. Your ways are not our ways, and we often do not understand the path You choose. Teach us to trust You anyway.
In our life and times we may encounter increasing troubles and difficulties—similar circumstances as the apostles, or other experiences of challenge and opposition. Help us to trust You and know with certainty that Your way is perfect (Psalm 18:30). Help us to make ready for whatever the future holds by daily submitting our lives to You as we pray from the heart, "Thy will be done."
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