"And when they had prayed, 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." Acts 4:31 (NKJV)

I was sitting in a hotel room when suddenly the floor beneath my feet began to shudder. Rumble, rumble, rumble. Not really a sound, but rather a powerful rocking that caused me to leap from my chair.

A few short moments later, it ended. Comments on Twitter and Facebook came alive.

"Did you feel that?"

"What was that?"

"Did we just have an earthquake?"

Later I listened to the news and heard it was a magnitude 5.6. The story of the earthquake was widely reported. The big news wasn’t the earthquake itself, but where the earthquake took place. Though there had been small tremors, there had never been earthquakes on that level before.

In today’s passage, another newsworthy story occurred: Peter and John healed a man in the name of Jesus. These were ordinary and uneducated men; everyone knew that, which is why it garnered the attention of those in authority.

What just happened?

How did they do that?

Is that even possible?

The news spread. Crowds gathered. People ran to find their friends and family, carrying the sick on cots in hopes they might just pass in the shadow of these men and be healed. Three thousand were saved. Then 5,000 more, along with their wives and children. Something was happening.

As I read this story, I began to pray, tears trickling down my face.

Can this still happen?

Will You do this in me?

Lord, everything is possible with You.

God Himself took up residence inside of Peter and John with the power of His Spirit. He made His presence known by shaking the upper room. He made His existence clear by showing up in ordinary men and shaking up faith as it had always been known.

Like the disciples, I’m ordinary and uneducated in a hundred different ways. I don’t always have the answers. I don’t always know the words to pray. I can’t always explain how God works.

Yet I know that He is real and His presence in our lives changes us and impacts others. If He transformed the disciples with His power and presence, He can do the same in me and you.

Shake me up.

Is this your prayer, too? Then let’s pray that prayer together.

As we pray, may there be a rumble, rumble, rumble inside women all over the world as we open the doors to our hearts, our thoughts, our lives and every part of who we are.

Shake me, Father. Lead me to seek You before any other. Give me boldness and confidence beyond the natural. Rattle my doubts with belief. Tumble down my excuses as You ask me to step out in faith. Take my eyes off my own capabilities, and let me place my trust in Yours. Father, I often focus on who I am or what I have to offer, when all along You are all I need. Shake up my heart as I reach for You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

***

TRUTH FOR TODAY:

Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them." (NLT)

Acts 4:13, "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus." (ESV)

RELATED RESOURCES:

If you are in a hard place, Suzie Eller’s book, The Mended Heart: God’s Healing for Your Broken Places, offers hope and help.

Join Suzie on her blog where she and other women discuss what it might look like when God shakes you up.

REFLECT AND RESPOND:

The more Peter and John experienced the power of Christ, the more they realized that Jesus was their Source, rather than their own efforts or accomplishments.

He’s your Source, too. As you pray for Christ’s presence to ignite inside of You, rest in this truth: He is the One doing the work. Your part is to simply be open to what He wants to do in and through you.

© 2016 by Suzie Eller. All rights reserved.