Constantly In Prayer

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

CONSTANTLY IN PRAYER

Acts 1:12-14

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

NIV

So, then Jesus ascended back into heaven from the Mount of Olives as we are told this is where they were, and returned to Jerusalem. A Sabbath day’s walk at the time of the disciples was three-quarters of a mile, which was the distance from the place, perhaps even the garden of Gethsemane, which is located just about halfway between the top of the Mount of Olive, and the bottom of the Kidron Valley. It is very easy to see Jerusalem from there and it appears less than a mile. So here they arrive in Jerusalem, and we think it must have been the same room they had prepared for the Passover meal, the last one Jesus ate with them before his crucifixion. We are told the names of the disciples, the name of Mary the mother of Jesus, but not of the others. We are told in the next verses there were about one hundred and twenty in all. That is a good size church already, and this is the same group that we will see later that is filled with the Spirit. For now, they are in a state of rejoicing combined, perhaps, with a little sadness because Jesus has now officially left them, however, they might be believing that he is going to come right back, as the angels told them he would return in the same way he left in the clouds. They all joined together constantly in prayer. What we know is that the Day of Pentecost is fifty days after the Passover. Depending on how the days are counted, they stayed in that room for either nine or ten days, for Jesus ascended forty days after his resurrection. His last meal was before the Passover, as the Jews demanded the Romans make sure all three would be dead and taken down before the Passover. This is why they broke their legs, to hurry the deaths of the two criminals, as Jesus had already given up his spirit, his legs were not broken. What is interesting is they would not be constantly in prayer as we think of people all kneeling, hands folded, eyes closed, and either whispering or muttering to themselves or voicing loudly in unison, as someone leads. But nine or ten days require eating, drinking, sleeping, and doing normal bodily functions. This gives us a clue as to what constantly in prayer means. We can live our lives, having to work, eat and drink and do all that other stuff, and still be in the constant state of being in communication with God. We are always aware of this presence, as the Spirit is dwelling within us. As we also know from the following verses that during those nine or ten days while they were waiting for the promise Jesus told them about the Spirit, Peter spoke up about replacing Judas with another so they would have twelve again. Therefore, this constant prayer also included conversations with each other. Again, we have to conclude that we should be living our daily lives always in an attitude of communication with our Lord. We cannot do this with our eyes closed or by always voicing some praise or needs. The other thing we have considered over the years is that prayer is both talking to God and listening to him. We are told if we ask, he will answer, so we need to always be in the state of listening for his voice as we go about our daily lives. This way we can constantly be in prayer.