The Mark of the Church: Prayer
Acts 1:12-26, 2 Peter 3:9, Luke 24:44-48, Philippians 4:5-7
The disciples had just seen the risen Jesus ascend into the heavens after giving them instructions not to leave Jerusalem until they receive the Spirit (v.4). Where we find ourselves is the disciples responding to Jesus by doing the very thing He told them to do. In obedience, the apostles and followers of Jesus return to Jerusalem. The work that God is going to do through His church is impossible apart from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is so important He tells them to do nothing until they have received it. So they wait.
What is interesting about this passage is what they do as they wait. This main point of this passage may not be pointing to this, but it is surely a habit we should note and learn from. In verse 14 it says “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.” We see from the get-go that community and prayer are distinguished early marks of the church. They did not give themselves to prayer every once in a while but it says they were “devoted”. It was consistent and persistent. John Macarthur says “Nothing is said about them praying for the coming of the Holy Spirit. They aren’t told to pray. They’re told to wait. And in God’s time, at His moment, the Spirit will come. And while they’re waiting, they choose to commune with God”. The habit and practice of prayer were engaged often by the early church, especially as they waited for the Spirit. Where can you be encouraged and challenged to engage in prayer privately, and also in community with the believers around you?
What we do find in the main chunk of the passage however is the replacement of Judas. Jesus had chosen 12 apostles to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. Spoiler alert, Judas betrays Jesus and dies. This left a vacant spot that needed to be filled before the movement of the church took off. However, in doing so, this actually fulfills the prophecy that Peter quotes in both Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8. Judas’s betrayal and needing another to replace his spot was not spoiling God’s plan, but it was fulfilling it. There may be moments in history and in life where it seems God’s plan may be thwarted, but God has it rigged and controlled all along and the life of Judas is just one example of this throughout Scripture. God is in control and fulfills His promises over and over again.
As they choose a person to take the place of Judas, what we see in the midst of this process was the decision being covered in prayer. Every moment in the waiting, in between, and every decision along the way, we see the people of God do what Jesus modeled to them consistently, prayer. The church is waiting for the coming of the Spirit and what we see as they wait is the believers gathered together praying, recognizing the fulfilling of a prophecy by seeing the betrayal of Judas predicted, and his vacant space filled.
As we read this, where can we as God’s people grow in our habit of prayer? More specifically, where can you devote yourself to prayer with God’s people consistently?
