Be Prayerful
The Holy Spirit led me to read Acts 1:12-14. So I read it over and over and studied it, all the time asking God ‘What do you want me to share?I believe God has revealed 3 points from the scripture to share today.
Prayer
They weren’t waiting expectantly twiddling their thumbs in the upper room, they were praying! And as you look through Acts prayer plays a significant part in the story of the church. In fact, prayer was a normal part of their daily ministry
- Prayed for guidance in making decisions (Acts 1:15-26)
- The courage to witness for Christ (Acts 4:23–31).
- Stephen prayed as he was being stoned (Acts 7:55–60).
- Peter and John prayed for the Samaritans (Acts 8:14–17
- Saul of Tarsus prayed after his conversion (Acts 9:11).
- Peter prayed before he raised Dorcas from the dead (Acts 9:36–43).
- Cornelius prayed that God would show him how to be saved (Acts 10:1–4
- Peter was on the housetop praying when God told him how to be the answer to Cornelius’ prayers (Acts 10:9).
- The believers in John Mark’s house prayed for Peter when he was in prison, and the Lord delivered him both from prison and from death (Acts 12:1–11).
- The church at Antioch fasted and prayed before sending out Barnabas and Paul (Acts 13:1–3; and note 14:23).
- It was at a prayer meeting in Philippi that God opened Lydia’s heart (Acts 16:13)
- And another prayer meeting in Philippi opened the prison doors (Acts 16:25).
- Paul prayed for his friends before leaving them (Acts 20:36; 21:5).
- In the midst of a storm, he prayed for God’s blessing (Acts 27:35
- After a storm, he prayed that God would heal a sick man (Acts 28:8).
Something happens when God’s people pray.
In prayer we are saying God we are expectant for you to move in this situation. When we come together to pray as a church it is just like the 120 in the upper room coming together, expectant that God will move and agreeing.
As a church prayer needs to be on the agenda. Just as we are to be expectant that God will move on a Sunday we also must come expectant that God will move in our prayer meetings.
I want to put this out there:
We are to be expectant, we are to come together in unity and finally we are to be open to the fact that God may want to use us to be the answer. God sent his spirit in the upper room, it filled them, which was remarkable, but what I find even more remarkable was that they were filled for a purpose and they began to speak in other languages, the things of God! Everyone around them from other nations could understand. God fills us to serve others. To reach others.
Please don’t be filled and keep it to yourself. Please don’t allow fear of getting it wrong or looking silly stop you. Why? Because people will miss out.
Someone stepped out at a prayer meeting and gave me a word, it was so spot on, it was an encouragement to keep going and an encouragement that God was hearing my prayers for this specific issue.
Be Expectant
Be Together
Be Prayerful
