Living in Prayer
Today’s Verse:
Acts 1:14 ESV
All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
The Day of Pentecost is this coming Sunday. Taking time to reflect on its meaning is especially important as we walk these final days of the Easter season. Today, we look at the disciples and what they did after Jesus ascended back to heaven.
Before the wind rushed in and tongues of fire descended at Pentecost, there was a period of quiet, steadfast prayer. Acts 1:14 vividly portrays a moment of sacred unity. The apostles, women, and even Jesus’ earthly family gathered not in action but in anticipation—devoted, prayerful, and filled with expectation.
This is a powerful reminder that the mission of the Church does not begin with noise and movement, but with hearts joined in Christ. They did not scatter after Christ’s ascension. They stayed. They prayed. They waited on the Lord.
Martin Luther once said, “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” In this single verse, we see the Church breathing together—waiting for the breath of the Holy Spirit.
As we prepare our hearts for Pentecost, we are invited to do the same: to pause, to pray, and to wait upon the Lord together. The Spirit comes not to the isolated but to the gathered. May our congregations and our homes be filled with that same spirit of unity, devotion, and eager expectation.
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Gracious Lord, bind us together as one in prayer and purpose. As we await the renewal of Pentecost, stir in us a deep longing for Your Spirit. Unite us in faith, hope, and love through Jesus Christ, our risen and ascended Savior. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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