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“I quit!” That’s what Geri Scazzero told her husband. After years of taking care of the kids alone, doing everything he needed her to do for the church, and skipping vacations, she finally decided to quit. She was through overfunctioning for her husband at home so he could overfunction at church. She had hit a wall, and she couldn’t do it anymore. That’s the story she tells in her helpful book The Emotionally Healthy Woman.
Maybe that’s where you are today. You’ve tried and tried and tried, and you’ve hit a wall. There is no going forward in the direction you are now going. Something has to change.
What do we do when we hit a wall? It’s a frustrating experience. You thought you were going forward, and, suddenly, you realize you aren’t making any progress. Maybe you’ve been stuck for years in the same pattern, and it isn’t getting you anywhere. What are you supposed to do?
Our text tells us of a time when the disciples hit a wall. They had been moving forward, doing what Jesus told them to do, and they hit a wall, the opposition of the leaders of the nation. What were they going to do? This text tells us what they did when they hit a wall. We will see this answer in four points: the context, the wall, the prayer, and the answer.
The Context
Let’s look at the really big picture first. The big picture is that God created the world for Himself. He made human beings to enjoy harmonious fellowship with Himself and with others. He made them to be productive and to enjoy the world. However, our parents turned from God, we’ve been doing it ever since. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The result has been war, enmity, destruction, addictions, debilitation, and death across the ages. The good news is that God still loved this fallen, sinful world. God sent His Son. This means that there is one God, but He has revealed Himself as existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Son took on Himself a human nature and died and rose again to reconcile God and humanity. This is the greatest wall humans have ever faced, and the Son of God overcame it.
On the authority of the Son of God, you are now offered peace, life, and forgiveness as a free gift. God offers full reconciliation and restoration. This is the gift that is available to everyone.
But how will you know about it? You’ve got to hear about it. How is that going to happen? Jesus thought of that. He sent out people to tell others about Him. You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, He said to His disciples. The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, will empower them to tell others about Him. That’s how it happens.
Now, let’s go back to our chapter. They had done what Jesus asked. The Holy Spirit had empowered them to tell others about Jesus. Thousands had believed. The church had grown. It was a miracle of God’s grace. All over Jerusalem, people were trusting in Jesus as the one who could give them a new life and a new hope.
One way Jesus got the church off the ground is that He gave them special signs. They did miracles. A man who had begged every day at the gate of the temple was there. He begged because he could not walk. Peter and John told him to walk, and he was healed. How? “By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see” (Acts 3:16). The power of Jesus made this man well, and everybody knew it.
The Wall
Then, they hit a wall. The leaders of the people were alarmed at the growth of the church. They were “greatly disturbed” our text says (Acts 4:2). So, they took Peter and John and put them in prison. They had hit a wall.
After this, they brought Peter and John into their assembly and interrogated them. Then, they commanded them not to speak anymore in the name of Jesus. The problem was that Jesus had told them to preach. So, what were they supposed to do? Listen to the response of John and Peter: “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19–20).
They knew at this point that they were going to face real opposition. What were they going to do? How were they going to go forward? What would you do?
I’m sure you’ve been there. You’ve encountered walls. You feel like a relationship cannot go forward. You look at our nation and think there’s no way forward with the polarization. You look at your finances, and you have no idea how you are going to make things work.
A couple of years ago, one of my daughters had purchased a bed from someone. She paid the money and expected it to be delivered. However, weeks went by, and the bed never came. She started to wonder if it would ever come. She was very discouraged. One day, when she was struggling, I asked her, “Have you prayed about it?”
She said, “No.”
I answered, “Let’s pray.” So, we prayed. The next day, the bed arrived. I told her, “Never forget that. Let it be a continual reminder of what to do when you hit a wall.”
The Prayer
That’s what the Apostles understood. When you hit a wall, you look up. You start to pray. “When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God” (Acts 4:24). They started to pray. That’s what you do when you hit a wall.
What we often do when we hit a wall is simply to look at ourselves or own resources. What we need to do is look up. That’s what we need to do. What we do in the church, we should do in the rest of our lives.
The fact that they prayed is instructive, but the prayer that they prayed is also instructive. Let’s look at it more closely, and I want you to see five things about it.
1. They addressed God with praise. “Sovereign Lord, you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them” (Acts 4:24). They began by praising God for His greatness. This glorified God and helped put them into a frame to pray. I found our habit is to say, “Dear God, thank you for this good day.” Not bad, but think about changing it up.
2. They quoted the Bible. Why would they quote the Bible? Doesn’t God already know it? Two reasons. It evokes faith, and it presents to God His promises as the basis for the request.
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?
The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one” (Acts 4:25–26).
God had told them long ago that they would face opposition, so they were not surprised.
3. They presented a situation to God. They spoke of what had already happened to Jesus when He was crucified, and then they said, “Now, Lord, consider their threats . . .” (Acts 4:29). God wants us to bring situations before Him. He knows them, but He wants us to speak about them to Him. Lord, consider my family, consider my church, consider our nation, consider Ukraine, and so on.
4. They prayed with expectation. They prayed expecting God to act. They didn’t just present the situation. They prayed with an expectation that God would act. “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus” (Acts 4:29–30).
5. They prayed something they knew God would want. Now, we can pray for anything, but we should especially pray for things that we know are close to God’s heart: thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Here, they were praying for the work of the kingdom.
That’s a guide for our prayers. I encourage you to study this prayer carefully.
The Answer
And, then, what happened? God answered powerfully. “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” (Acts 4:31). God did a repeat of what He had done at Pentecost. He showed that the power was still available to overcome the wall. The kingdom would go forward.
So, this is very simple. The wall wasn’t an accident. It was part of God’s providence. Why did God bring the wall? So they would pray. How does the church go forward? God’s Spirit and power. How do we get that power? Through prayer.
That’s what Jesus had already told the Apostles. He said, if a child asks for fish or bread, will a father give him a snake or a stone? No. Even flawed and imperfect fathers know how to give good gifts to their children. How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?
The point is that the power of Pentecost is still available to us. In my previous church, we hit a wall. Our church was not going forward. We were not reaching the people we wanted to reach. So, what did we do? We prayed. We met every week to pray. Then, things started happening. People started coming. Ministry started happening. Things started to change. This is a continual reminder to me of the fact that the power is still available. I was shocked when a young couple whom I had known for years sat on my couch and told me that they had decided to come to our church. It was a shock and completely unexpected. God was putting the pieces in place. He moved us to pray, and He answered our prayers.
Conclusion
When we hit a wall, it’s easy to let it roll around in our head. It’s easy just to look at our own resources. Let this be a reminder. When you hit a wall, look up. God may have put it there to call you to prayer.
For our congregation, we do our small groups, worship, and fellowship. In a leadership retreat several years ago, these were three of the five things that our leaders said that we do as a church. They also said that we do prayer and outreach. Now, I know that prayer and outreach take place. Last week, a woman spoke of her struggles, and I saw a group of women praying with her. It was beautiful. This sort of thing happens regularly.
Let this message be a reminder to me and to all of us to not forget this when we hit a wall. When we had our leaders’ meeting a few months ago. Several people said that they wanted to move forward with our youth and also see more people coming to our church. We need strategies to go forward, but what should we do? We need to look up. I know you do, but I also know that in spite of the fact that I know this, I need a continual reminder. As we feel a wall in our church life, we need to look up and seek the power of the kingdom.
We don’t want to simply bring people from other churches just to have bodies here, though. We want to reach new people. We want to reach people who are not experiencing the blessing of being part of a church community. So, here’s how I pray. Sovereign Lord, look at the many who need you in Sevier County and the people who need to be a part of a community. Bring the people here who need the ministry that we have here. Bring people who have fallen through the cracks. Bring people who need to be welcome and loved and taught so they can grow. That’s what we want. And we want it so that God may be glorified, people blessed, and the kingdom grow. So, let’s look up, and seek the Lord for what we need. That’s the way through the wall.
Benediction: Dear friends, you are the ones who keep the commands of the Lord and do what pleases Him. Let me encourage you to ask your heavenly Father for the things you need with full expectation that you will receive from Him all that you need.
May the Lord answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion.
May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings.
May he give you the desire of your hear and make all your plans succeed.
May you shout for joy over your victory and lift up your banners in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests. Amen.