Bold Witnesses Filled with the Spirit
Month 4: Walking in the Spirit · Walking in the Spirit
Today's Scripture
Read together: Acts 4:29-31
29 And now, Lord, consider their threats, and enable Your servants to speak Your word with complete boldness, 30 as You stretch out Your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.” 31 After they had prayed, their meeting place was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Memory Verse
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”— 1 Corinthians 12:7 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 6–7
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Around Day 116 of 365 — the Levites set apart for God's service.)The Heart of It
Peter and John had just been arrested. The powerful leaders of Jerusalem threatened them and told them to stop talking about Jesus. Now picture what the believers did not pray. They didn't ask God to make the danger go away. They didn't ask for an easier life. They didn't ask Him to zap their enemies. They prayed, "Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word" (). They asked for courage to keep telling people about Jesus. That was the very thing that had gotten them in trouble! That's a Spirit-shaped prayer. And God answered right away. "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" (v. 31).
This is what walking in the Spirit looks like in real life. The Spirit isn't given just to make us feel good in private. He's given to make us brave in public. He makes us bold to tell others about Jesus. Remember , "you shall receive power… and you shall be witnesses to Me." Notice these were the same believers already filled at Pentecost. Yet here they're filled again. Being filled with the Spirit isn't a one-time event you check off. It's something we keep asking for, again and again, especially when we're afraid. You don't have to work up courage by gritting your teeth. You just ask. The Father loves to fill His children with the Holy Spirit so they can speak up for Jesus when it's hard. And that filling is available to your family today.
Around the Table
When we're scared to talk about Jesus, the Holy Spirit makes us brave! We can ask Him.
Let's do it: Stand up tall and say it brave: "Holy Spirit, help me be bold for Jesus!"
They didn't pray for the trouble to stop. They prayed for courage to keep going. Then God filled them.
Let's talk: When is a time it feels scary or hard to talk about Jesus? What could you say?
Already-filled believers got filled again (v. 31). Being filled with the Spirit is something we keep seeking.
Let's go deeper: What's the difference between being brave on your own strength and being made bold by the Spirit?
💬 Conversation Starter
What's the bravest thing you've ever done? Could the Holy Spirit help you be that brave for Jesus, too?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
How do we know this courage was real and not just a nice story? These same men had recently been hiding in fear. Then they became preachers who refused to stay silent, even when they faced prison and death. And they never took it back. Such a sudden, total change from frightened people into fearless witnesses needs a real explanation. The Spirit truly came.
For Dad · Go Deeper
Classic Pentecostal teaching draws a line between two things. One is the indwelling of the Spirit. Every believer has Him from the moment of salvation. The other is being filled again and again for empowered witness. That's exactly the pattern in , where Spirit-filled people are filled afresh for boldness. This guards us from two errors. The first error is thinking we got everything at conversion and never need to seek the Spirit again. The second error is chasing a one-time experience and then coasting on it. The Spirit-filled life is a life of continual asking and yielding. And the goal, every time, is mission. The goal is bold, loving witness to Jesus, not a private spiritual high. Lead by example. Let your kids hear you pray for boldness to share Christ. Then let them see you actually do it.
Draws on: Robert Menzies, Pentecost: This Story Is Our Story; Derek Prince, The Spirit-Filled Believer's Handbook.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, fill us again with Your Holy Spirit. Make us bold to speak about Jesus. Take away our fear. Give us courage today. In Jesus' name, amen."
I don't have to work up courage on my own. I can ask the Spirit to make me bold for Jesus.