4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." 9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11 They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.
This is the Word of God for the people of God
Thanks be to God
Will you pray with me?
"Eternal God, who has set before us life and death for our choice, and has given us Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, help us to enter that way, to receive that truth, and to live be that life. Suffer us not to miss the purpose of our creation, but make us to be sons and daughters of yours and servants of your kingdom. Through the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen" [1] Adapted from Donald Baillie (1887-1954)
They devoted themselves to constant prayer. Jesus' remaining disciples, some women and his own family gathered back into the upper room to wait for the arrival of the Holy Spirit and the new empowerment that Jesus promised. They went there to wait and to pray. Prayer was important to the leaders of the new church. They regularly went to the temple every afternoon for three-o-clock prayer. As the demands of the church demanded more and more of their time deacons were ordained for pastoral care so that the leaders could continue devoting themselves to prayer. And new elders were ordained with much prayer and fasting.
Since women and men first walked on the earth prayer has been a part of our lives. Our earliest ancestors sensed a mysterious power at work in the world. The nature of this power was dimly understood. But when famine or disease threatened to destroy their tribes they reached out to this power in prayer pleading for salvation. Today all people sense this mysterious power beyond themselves. We reach out to it with our most intense needs and desires. When in trouble our natural response is prayer. Yet we live in an age when results matter. So when we pray we expect God to answer. And if God fails to answer or if the answer is "no" then we are profoundly disappointed.
Many people believe that praying is a way to get God to do something for them. Prayer somehow changes God. But as Christians we believe that prayer changes us. When we pray our hearts are changed. Prayer increases our self understanding and molds us around God's will. For Christians prayer is never centered on getting something rather it is always centered on God. Our goal in prayer is to have a relationship with God. This leads us to the first reason for prayer that our hearts may be filled with a "burning desire to seek, love and serve God." [2] Will you pray with me?
"O Eternal, Almighty and most gracious God! Heaven is your throne, and earth is your footstool; holy and reverend is you name; you are praised by the heavenly hosts, and in the congregation of your saints on earth; and will be sanctified in all that come close to you. We are sinful and unworthy dust; but being invited by you, are bold, through our blessed Mediator, to present ourselves and our supplications before you. Receive us graciously, help us by your Spirit; let you fear be upon us; put your laws into our hearts, write them in our minds; let your word come to us in power, and receive us in love, with attentive, reverent and obedient minds. Make it to us the savour of life unto life. Cause us to be fervent in prayer, and joyful in your praises, and to serve you this day without distractions: that we may find that it is good for us to draw near to God; through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen." [3] (Adapted from Richard Baxter (1615-1691))
Too often we put off praying because we are too busy or too tired. But these are just excuses. Since prayer is our way of conforming ourselves to God's will, the failure to pray is really a form of resistance to God. When we cannot find time to pray we should realize that this is a sign of an inner conflict with God. The temptation to not pray must be resisted. Then as we pray we will experience a renewal of the sense of God's presence in our lives.
As we pray we should make all of our needs and wants, all of our thought and feelings known to God. It forces us to examine our thoughts and desires carefully. If you do not want to bring a thought or desire to God you should reconsider the appropriateness of that thought or desire. Our thoughts and desires may change radically in prayer. This leads us to the second reason for prayer "that there may enter our hearts no desire and no wish at all of which we would be ashamed to make God a witness." [4] Will you pray with me?
"What a frightful account we will have to give to you, O God, to you who judges and condemns the words we speak! If vain words will be condemned, what then of malicious, venomous words? And if our words merit such severe judgment, what will our deeds merit? O Lord, Lord, do not settle accounts with us! Pardon us first: then change us and in the future let no words cross our lips save those inspired by this thought, that your Son, so full of love, was called the Word." [5] Napoleon Roussel (1805-1878).
Prayer is closely tied to self-examination. This is why the Puritans who settled in American made self-examination a daily practice of confession. It forces us to take a new look at ourselves and consider what we doing with our lives. Prayer changes us even if the change in undesired and unexpected.
When we think about our lives we often focus on the negative. We see what is wrong with ourselves and others. But in prayer we take a second look and notice all of the blessings God has given us. This causes us to respond to God with thanksgiving. Our consciousness is freed from the negative. We are able to be thankful for the goodness of life even in the midst of our troubles. This leads us to the third reason for prayer, "that we be prepared to receive God's benefits with true gratitude of heart and thanksgiving." [6] Will you pray with me?
"O God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, we thank you that we may be together to hear your word of life and hope. We are all equal before you. You know our life in its deepest recesses. You have not forgotten us; you love us, and again and again you fill the empty hands which we stretch out towards you. Though the suffering and death of your Son Jesus Christ, you took our darkness and fear upon yourself in order that we might know light and joy." [7] (Prayer of the Waldensian Church)
Prayers of thanksgiving are an important feature of Black churches. Frequently people in the congregation respond with exclamations like "Thank you Jesus" and "Yes, Lord". Their prayers are filled with praises of God. Gratitude fills their hearts helping them deal with oppression and discrimination that has lasted for generations. With prayers of thanksgiving we never take God's blessings for granted. We recognize that God is the source of everything we have, and we recognize God's blessings every day.
In prayer we perceive all that God is doing for us. As we respond in gratitude our hearts change. Then we realize how much God truly loves us, hears our cries and desires our well-being. We begin to see answers from God for what we thought was unanswered prayer. We respect God's "no" when we realize that it has been given out of love. And we develop patience to wait for God's answer in God's time. This leads us to the fourth reason for prayer that, "being convinced that God has answered our prayers, we should be led to meditate upon his kindness more ardently." [8] Will you pray with me?
"Father of mercies, in Thy Word what endless glory shine;
Forever be Thy Name adorer for these celestial lines.
Here the Redeemer's welcome voice spreads heavenly peace around;
And life and everlasting joys attend the blissful sound.
O may these heavenly pages be my ever dear delight;
And still new beauties may I see, and still increasing light;
Divine Instructor, gracious Lord, be Thou forever near;
Teach me to love Thy sacred Word, and view my Savior there." [9]
(Anne Steele (1716-1778)
We all know that we should pray, but praying is hard to do. Everything around us tells us that prayer in unimportant. We are independent people who want to take care of ourselves. We do not want to be dependent. And we ask, "How can God make a difference in a world that obeys natural laws?" We ask these questions because we forget who God is and what he has done for us in Jesus Christ who loves us and forgives all that we have done wrong. Even if we think that prayer may be useless it still affects who we are because in prayer we realize that we are God's beloved. We are reminded of God's grace. And we rekindle our sense of the mysterious and otherness of God.
Prayer brings us into a relationship where we can trust God, the creator of the universe. We also understand in prayer that Christ has joined in our weakness. By praying in Jesus' name we are reminded that he stoops down to lift us up to the presence of God. This act teaches us that we are dependent on God, and frees us from the necessity of depending only on ourselves. We set aside our busyness and our workaholic ways to do nothing, to set ourselves quietly before God's throne.
When Jesus taught his disciple to pray, they already new what prayer was. They had seen numerous examples in the Torah and in the Psalms. The already understood that God meets our daily needs, forgives us, and will initiate a new kingdom. What Jesus taught them was that they could approach God calling him "our father". Will you pray with me?
"Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen."
Benediction
"O God,
Who has so greatly loved us, and mercifully redeemed us, give us grace that in everything we may yield ourselves, our wills and our works, to a continual thankoffering unto you, though Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen."[10]
(Adapted from The Westminster Divines, "Directory for Worship" (1647))
[1] Donald Baille, as quoted in A Book of Reformed Prayers, 112.
[2] Calvin, as quoted in Howard L. Rice, Prayer in the Reformed Tradition, 75.
[3] Richard Baxter (1615-1691), as quoted in Howard L. Rice and Lamar Williamson Jr. A Book of Reformed Prayers, 41
[4] Calvin 76
[5] Napoleon Roussel, as quoted in A Book of Reformed Prayers, 80,
[6] Calvin 77
[7] Prayer of the Waldensian Church, as quoted in A Book of Reformed Prayers, 190
[8] Calvin 78
[9] Anne Steele, as quoted in A Book of Reformed Prayers, 63.
[10] The Westminster Divines, as quoted in A Book of Reformed Prayers, 38.
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