Wednesday
Wednesday
Waiting and Praying
They all joined together constantly in prayer.
Acts 1:14
After Jesus had left them, the apostles walked back to Jerusalem “with great joy” (Luke 24:52) and waited for ten days until the Holy Spirit came. Luke tells us how they occupied their time during those days before Pentecost. In his Gospel he says that “they stayed continually at the temple, praising God” (Luke 24:53), whereas according to the Acts, “they all joined together constantly in prayer” in the room in which they were lodging. It was a healthy combination: continuous praise in the temple and continuous prayer in the home.
Who were these people who met together in praise and prayer? They numbered about 120, we are told. They included the eleven surviving apostles, whom Luke lists with only minor variations from the list he has given in his Gospel. In addition, he mentions “the women” (Acts 1:14), presumably meaning Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and others who had supported Jesus and the apostles financially and who had found the tomb empty. Next, and separately, as occupying a position of particular honor, Luke adds “Mary the mother of Jesus” (v. 14), whose unique role in the birth of Jesus he has described in the first two chapters of his Gospel. “His brothers” are mentioned last (v. 14); they had probably come to faith because of the private resurrection appearance that Jesus had granted to James the Lord’s brother (1 Cor. 15:7).
All these (the apostles, the women, and the mother and brothers of Jesus), together with the rest who made the number up to 120, “joined together constantly in prayer.” Their praying was both united and persevering. No doubt the grounds of their unity and perseverance were the command and promise of Jesus. He had promised to send the Holy Spirit, and he had commanded them to wait for him to come and only then to begin their witness. From this we learn that God’s promises do not render prayer superfluous. On the contrary, it is only God’s promises that give us both the warrant to pray and the confidence that he will hear and answer our prayers.
For further reading: Acts 1:12–14