11 Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon's, greatly amazed.
12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
In verse 16, he said:
16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
Through faith - in the name of Jesus - Peter and John prayed and God answered. They were confident in their God's ability to bring glory to His name and they stood in faith calling on this mighty and majestic Lord. We can be challenged in our own lives to measure our level of confidence when we pray, and boldly approach the throne. The, we boldly call upon Him when we stand or kneel there, placing ourselves in agreement with His Word and accessing His unlimited power.
+++++
In Psalm 4, the Psalmist highlights the faithfulness of God:
(1) Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
(1) Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
Later, in verse 3, we read:
3 But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The Lord will hear when I call to Him.
Probably very few people outside of the Birmingham area had heard of tiny Clay, Alabama. I have because I used to live there during my final year working in radio in the Magic City. It's a beautiful place in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. And, that area is on more people's radar now because of a young man, a high school senior named Christian Crawford.
With all the controversy that we see year after year about graduation prayers, it's interesting that Christian actually had the chance to present two prayers at the commencement for Clay-Chalkville High School. According to a report on FoxNews.com, Crawford had opened the ceremony with a prepared prayer, but later in the program he "took to the microphone to address the crowd, delivering a second, unscripted prayer with the poise and maturity of someone much older."
In a recent interview on Fox & Friends, Crawford said, “The graduation started off normal – pledge of allegiance, then speeches,” and he said that the graduates began to receive their diplomas when they heard calls of “medic, medic, medic” in the audience. He related that about 5 minutes later, school librarian Shannon Petty asked Crawford to pray.
The report continued:
Crawford, who worships at the New Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church in Birmingham, said he cannot take credit for the prayer he spoke.
AL.com has transcribed the text of the prayer:
First of all, he said, "We don't know what's going on, but we will pray." We don't have to have a needs assessment before we go to the Lord in prayer. We can be confident that He does know and that He is available when we call on Him. Prayer doesn't come as the result of having everything figured out, rather we can approach God with confidence in His power and wisdom.
He also called on God to "fix it." I think this speaks to the restorative nature of our God. We can depend on Him for solutions, for the interjection of His mighty power into a situation. He is all-powerful, and we can recognize that He can do incredible things as we stand in faith, calling out to Him in the name of Jesus. And, there's another thing - he prayed in Jesus' name. Yes, that is the name above all names, the name through which we are saved and the name that we can speak boldly in prayer.
And, speaking of names, Christian Crawford spoke several names of God: Jehovah-jireh, which means "God our provider;" Jehovah-nissi, or "the Lord our banner;" and Jehovah-shiloh (or -shalom), the "God of peace." We can gain a greater sense of God's authority as we speak out His names.
Overall, we can be challenged to prayer in response to the emergencies we face - physical, emotional, or spiritual - recognizing God's healing hand in times of struggle.
3 But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The Lord will hear when I call to Him.
Probably very few people outside of the Birmingham area had heard of tiny Clay, Alabama. I have because I used to live there during my final year working in radio in the Magic City. It's a beautiful place in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. And, that area is on more people's radar now because of a young man, a high school senior named Christian Crawford.
With all the controversy that we see year after year about graduation prayers, it's interesting that Christian actually had the chance to present two prayers at the commencement for Clay-Chalkville High School. According to a report on FoxNews.com, Crawford had opened the ceremony with a prepared prayer, but later in the program he "took to the microphone to address the crowd, delivering a second, unscripted prayer with the poise and maturity of someone much older."
In a recent interview on Fox & Friends, Crawford said, “The graduation started off normal – pledge of allegiance, then speeches,” and he said that the graduates began to receive their diplomas when they heard calls of “medic, medic, medic” in the audience. He related that about 5 minutes later, school librarian Shannon Petty asked Crawford to pray.
The report continued:
“I said, 'Lord, let your will be done.'” Crawford told “Fox & Friends.” “I opened up my mouth and God began to speak through me.”
The Holy Spirit began to speak and he said, through me, “God is a fixer,” the teen recalled.
Crawford looked out at those in attendance and began: "Let's pray."The Fox News story stated that Crawford told the Trussville Tribune: “After I finished praying, that was it, I knew God was going to do his job,” adding, "We had 1,000-plus people there, so I know he heard our prayer, and I got an update on the [victim] and she’s doing fine.”
"We know that prayer is power and that God is able," Crawford continued.
Crawford, who worships at the New Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church in Birmingham, said he cannot take credit for the prayer he spoke.
AL.com has transcribed the text of the prayer:
"Everybody can I have your attention real quick?" Crawford said. "We don't know what's going on, but we will pray. We know that prayer is power, and that God is able. Let's pray. Father God, we thank you for this day, Lord. We pray right now that whatever is going on, you will fix it, God. We pray that you will heal it, God. We pray that you will redeem it, God. We pray that you will deliver it, God. Because we know that you are a God who knows how to make a way. And in the name of Jesus we declare and decree in the name of Jesus that whatever is going on shall be fixed, because you are a God who is a fixer. You are a God who is a healer. Jehovah God, Jehovah-jireh, Jehovah-nissi, Jehovah-shiloh. [sic] Fix it, Jesus. In Jesus' name, Amen."Constitutional and...compelling! This young man demonstrated his faith, and chose prayer as an antidote to panic in the face of a medical emergency. This can inspire our own responses to the tense situations we face. In a bit of "prayer-nalysis" today, here are some thoughts that come to mind.
First of all, he said, "We don't know what's going on, but we will pray." We don't have to have a needs assessment before we go to the Lord in prayer. We can be confident that He does know and that He is available when we call on Him. Prayer doesn't come as the result of having everything figured out, rather we can approach God with confidence in His power and wisdom.
He also called on God to "fix it." I think this speaks to the restorative nature of our God. We can depend on Him for solutions, for the interjection of His mighty power into a situation. He is all-powerful, and we can recognize that He can do incredible things as we stand in faith, calling out to Him in the name of Jesus. And, there's another thing - he prayed in Jesus' name. Yes, that is the name above all names, the name through which we are saved and the name that we can speak boldly in prayer.
And, speaking of names, Christian Crawford spoke several names of God: Jehovah-jireh, which means "God our provider;" Jehovah-nissi, or "the Lord our banner;" and Jehovah-shiloh (or -shalom), the "God of peace." We can gain a greater sense of God's authority as we speak out His names.
Overall, we can be challenged to prayer in response to the emergencies we face - physical, emotional, or spiritual - recognizing God's healing hand in times of struggle.
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