Acts 18:22-19:12 When my children were little I would find Bible heroes, and then I would pray for my sons to be just like them. One of these Bible heroes was Daniel, who had an excellent spirit. Today we see another Bible hero whom we would like our children to emulate. His name was Apollos.
Luke describes him in this eighteenth chapter of Acts: “Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John” (vv. 24-25).
This Jew named Apollos must have truly made an impression on all he met. He was fervent in spirit even though he had not yet received the baptism in the Holy Spirit as the disciples did in the upper room during Pentecost. Even without this additional empowerment of the Holy Spirit, Apollos had great fervor. Aquilla and Priscilla took him aside and explained to him about the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Apollos was described as follows:
1. An eloquent man
2. A mighty man in the Scriptures
3. A man instructed in the ways of the Lord
4. A man with a fervent spirit
5. A man who accurately taught the Word of God
6. A bold man
We could pray a prayer for all of our children and ourselves to be just like Apollos. The prayer would be like the one below:
Lord, mold me into a person of excellence who is eloquent in speech. Cause me to be mighty in the Scriptures and instruct me daily in Your ways. Keep me fervent in spirit. Use me in teaching Your Word to others, and give me the boldness I need to be an effective witness today.
READ: 2 Kings 13:1-14:29; Acts 18:22-19:12; Psalm 146:1-10; Proverbs 18:2-3
