A Fly on the Wall

A saying often used in these parts is, "I would like to be a fly on the wall," and so might we all as we think of the church praying on that day described in Acts 1:14.  About that moment the Word says, "All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer."  Jesus had told those disciples to wait in Jerusalem and while they waited, they prayed.  Pentecost was something which had not yet happened, and most assuredly, something they could not have imagined.   This prayer meeting described in so few words was surely the first of many.

 

To read those words and to let our mind wander is to wonder how those early disciples might have prayed.  If ever the church gathered with an agenda-less prayer, it was in those days.  They knew to wait and they prayed while they waited, but their praying was not guided by what they wanted to happen, but by the wonder and anticipation which was so heavy upon them.  They must have wondered what Jesus meant when He spoke of the Holy Spirit coming.  They must have wondered about what He meant by saying not to go until the Spirit had come.  They must have wondered what He meant by all that they could not possibly understand.

The church today could certainly become a stronger, more mature, and more loving church if it followed the example of these first believers in Jesus.  Today the church and its leaders often speak of the importance of prayer, but too much of that praying is according to an agenda carried into the prayer meeting.  Instead of being filled with wonder and anticipation at what the Holy Spirit might do, we start praying from the position of knowing what is best for the church and what the Holy Spirit should do to make it happen.   It makes for powerless praying and a confused and powerless church.