Acts 1:12-14

“Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk^[c] 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."

Look at the names listed in the passage above. It consists of eleven of the twelve disciples[1], the mother of Jesus, and various other friends and family. These men would go on to heal the sick, spread Christianity all over the world, and become heroes of the faith and founders of the church. Most would even be killed in sadistic ways because of their faith. Yet we see them here at a huge milestone in their ministries. Jesus had just left, leaving them with instructions to go and be witnesses to the very ends of the earth. So what did the men who would go on to be spiritual icons and heroes for the rest of time do first upon beginning their life after the ascension. They prayed.

There’s not a whole lot to this lesson, but it’s such a good example they set. They saw Jesus earlier in the day, were surrounded by Christians, and still decided to be “constantly in prayer” before beginning to do anything. Look what they would go on to accomplish. How often do we begin our day, our work, our projects, our ministries in prayer? These men were as close to Jesus as any humans could be and it was the first and most important thing they did. The prayer mentioned above does not sound as if it was an opening prayer to pay lip service before they figured out the logistics of world missions, but rather and constant pursuit of the Father’s will. If the original disciples did not view themselves as good or spiritual enough do begin their ministries without God’s help, how much more should we prioritize prayer in how we do things? All of the heroes of our faith once started out where most of us are now, with a desire to be part of God’s plan but an ignorance of the appropriate steps. The disciples make it quite clear. If the first step and top priority is prayer, and we turn over our desire to be in control of everything, God will be able to use us far beyond our own capacities.

1. Basically all the ones that didn’t betray Jesus for silver and then off themselves.