Jesus

has ascended to heaven, and a waiting period for his followers has

begun. On the day he ascended, Jesus said, “Do not leave Jerusalem,

but wait for the gift my Father promised” (Acts 1:4). They would

have remembered that this gift would be the power and presence of

God’s Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8), but Jesus didn’t say when the

Spirit would come. So, what were they to do while waiting?

A

lot of action transpires in the book of Acts, but one of the first

recorded actions of these believers after Jesus’ ascension is that

they join together in prayer. We are not sure how all this is

organized or what the form of their prayers is, but we do know three

things.

First,

they join together. This group that scattered and fled from the Mount

of Olives when Jesus was arrested are together again as they now walk

back to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.

Second,

they are constantly in prayer. There is an everyday consistency that

marks their life before God and one another.

Third,

even the brothers of Jesus who did not join in following him as

disciples now join with this group of believers.

God

is preparing his people, and he does this through prayer.