They all were continually united in prayer, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.- Acts 1:14.

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The disciples were probably stunned.

Imagine the situation — they had just returned from the Mount of Olives after watching Jesus ascend into Heaven and being told by two men in white clothes (obviously angels) that they would again see Jesus when he comes back.

They walked back to Jerusalem to the rather large room that they had been using as their headquarters. There were the eleven original disciples, as Judas Iscariot had committed suicide. But there were a number of others who had followed Jesus, including a number of women.

They could have sat around and shared Jesus stories or conducted a planning session on what should we do next, but this is not what they did. “They all were continually united in prayer…” (1:14)

They knew that they needed prayer more than anything else in this time of waiting for the next page to turn in the drama that they were experiencing.

In our day and age, it is likewise true that we need to immerse the work and direction of the church in prayer. The challenges are daunting and resistance to gospel truth has never been as strong in our country today.

Just as Jehoshaphat prayed in 2 Chronicles 20:12, “We are powerless before this vast number that comes to fight against us. We do not know what to do, but we look to you.”

PRAYER STARTER…

Oh Lord, our Help and Strength in time of need, we need direction for our church, just as the early church did. May we not just think about what we must do, or talk about what we must do, but may we be as the early church, we would PRAY about what we should do.

(Continue this prayer as the Holy Spirit directs you personally. He hears our hearts, so simply pour out your heart to Him.)