Peter takes the Lead in Prayer

A young man, a Christian, went to an older believer to ask for prayer. “Will you please pray that I may be more patient?” he asked. The aged saint agreed. They knelt together and the man began to pray, “Lord, send this young man tribulation in the morning; send … More

Unity

Following Christ’s instruction (v. 4), the disciples returned to Jerusalem to wait and pray (v. 12). When faced with an important task or decision, we should not rush in and hope for the best. Instead, prayer for the Holy Spirit’s power and guidance should be our first step. They assembled in the upper room (v. 14), approximately 120 people (v. 15). Notably, the brothers of Jesus were now present, having finally believed in Him after his resurrection. We see here a wonderful unity that bound them together in Christ. It has been said that prayer is both the thermometer and the thermostat of the local church. The “spiritual temperature” either goes up or down, depending on how much God’s people pray.

After the Lord’s ascension, Peter was recognized as the leader of the disciples. Bothered by the empty space left by the treachery and suicide of Judas, Peter decided that someone must replace the missing member of the Apostolic ranks. Peter gave a full description of the suicide of Judas (vv. 16-19). Peter believed that the person who took the place of Judas should be a man who had intimate personal knowledge of the Lord from beginning to end (vv. 20-22). Evidently there were several who qualified, but after a sifting process, just two people were left, Justus and Mat­thias (v. 23). We know nothing of these two men beyond their names. These believers prayed, not for the Lord to choose, but that the choice He had already made would be made known to them (vv. 24-25). The two names were then put on lots (probably small stones) and shaken out of a container (v. 26). The first lot to fall out was considered the Lord’s choice, and Matthias got it. This was in accord with Old Testament practice (Proverbs 16:33). With the coming of the Holy Spirit this practice is no longer necessary for Christians. 

Application

What is the role prayer in this passage? What would I have prayed for under similar circumstances? I know that prayer is one of the weakest areas in my spiritual life, so I want to focus on it more in the coming months.

Acts 1:12-26 (English Standard Version)


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