I’ve been busy with the start of some new and exciting ministry opportunities so it has been some time since I last wrote a blog. My friend Jeannine, a member of the younger generation and far more tech saavy than I, heard what I was teaching my junior high Sunday school class tomorrow and immediately said, “Blog about it!”. Never occurred to me. Thanks for spurring me on Jeannine!
This week we’re looking at the New Testament book of Acts, written by the same Dr. Luke who wrote the gospel that bears his name. Luke was a physician and the only non-Jewish writer in the Bible.
Writing to his friend Theophilus, he summarizes the events of Jesus’ suffering and subsequent resurrection appearances. He ends the first 11 verses of chapter 1 with a description of Jesus’ ascension and His last words to His followers to remain in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit who would be the power source for being Jesus’ witness to the world of their day.
Chapter 1, verses 12-23 describe what they did next. They (the 11 remaining disciples, along with the women who had followed Jesus, and Mary, Jesus’ mother, and his brothers) returned to Jerusalem, and gathered in the room where they were staying.
It’s important to note what they did while they waited – verse 14 says they all joined together constantly in prayer.
You and I find ourselves waiting ALL the time! We wait in traffic, we wait at the doctor’s office, we wait for our kids to get out of school, we wait to find a job, we wait for the test results to come in, we wait for the arrival of babies, we wait to see what college we’ll get into, we wait for the Lord to grow our church, we wait for God’s direction when we need to make a decision, we wait for our wedding day, we wait for the right guy to come along – and we wait for. . . . . . . add your own example!
So, what do YOU do while you wait?
What a great example these believers set for us during times of waiting! What did THEY do?
They prayed. All of them. Joining together. Constantly.
Lots of times when we’re waiting we’re alone. I can remember lying on a guerney – all by myself - outside an operating room waiting for surgery. That’s a step you take that no one but doctors and nurses take with you. No husband to hold your hand. No kindly friend to sit by your side. It was a little scary. You KNOW I was praying! But so were others. They just weren’t with me while they did it.
There’s something so comforting, reassuring, and powerful about praying WITH others while you’re waiting for God to work. Their words encourage your faith when you're feeling discouraged. Their words remind you of God's greatness and faithfulness. Their words give you the courage and determination to carry on for another day.
A couple of years ago our church was without a pastor. The congregation was fragmented and hurting. The Lord laid on my heart and the hearts of a few other women to meet together once a week, not to pray for ourselves, but to pray for healing and unity for our church and its ministries, as well as for God’s choice for our next pastor.
We prayed – all of us, together, constantly – the entire time we met. We have talked often since about how wonderfully the Lord answered our prayers. Healing began, and as a result we saw greater unity among our members. Ministries began to experience new life and greater enthusiasm. And the Lord brought us a godly, humble, prayerful, and wise man to be our pastor. For good measure, because the Lord never does anything half way, He also included the pastor’s wife, a woman with a heart for the lost and a gift for hospitality that inspires the rest of us to do the same.
When we prayed together one woman's confidence in God's faithfulness and ability to work would encourage another's doubt or discouragement. The burden the Lord laid on one woman's heart would expand the possibilities of what He might do for the rest of us. It was a wonderful experience of what James says in the New Testament book that bears his name, chapter 5:16:
"The prayer of a righteous man (or woman) is powerful and effective."
The Apostle Paul also says in I Thessalonians 5:16-18: "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
One of the biggest blessings to me during my years in the ministry of Bible Study Fellowship International was the privilege of praying, on our knees, and specifically, for the needs of our class and seeing God's answers. Probably THE thing that impressed every new leader was hearing all of us leaders, joined together, constantly in prayer – and it changed my prayer life and that of every leader forever.
If you are currently waiting, pray for God’s direction. You certainly don’t have to pray with others for the Lord to hear you. However, having others pray for and with you while you wait will bless your soul and energize your prayer life like nothing else. And then you will all have the privilege of rejoicing together when the Lord answers.
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