Prayer: Then and Now

I mentioned in my previous post how Acts 6 kinda stopped me in my tracks the other day.  My last post was only half the reason for my stoppage.  This post is the second half.

Jesus had just died, risen, and ascended to heaven.  His Church was now taking root and disciples were springing up like dandelions in my yard.  But a minor problem was brought to attention by the Greek Jews:  their widows weren't receiving any food and the Hebrew Jews were.  So the Twelve disciples gathered the other disciples together and said,

"Choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.  We will turn this responsibility over to them... (v 3)"

And so the matter was settled.  The issue was small enough that the disciples felt it wasn't worth the energy of having everyone try to resolve it because there were bigger responsibilities at hand (see verse 2).

Here comes the part that snagged me.

What exactly did these disciples feel was so important and deserved their utmost attention?

"[We] will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word (v 4)."

Two areas that demanded their full focus, that determined how they spent their days, that drove their Mission.  One of them:

Prayer.

They gave their attention to prayer.

And I can't help but wonder what the Church would look like today if we gave our attention to prayer.

If even just the leaders of our Churches gave their attention to prayer.

Not just praying for thirty seconds before meetings, for five minutes during Sunday service, for ten seconds before lunch.  Not just "God-bless-this-time-and-heal-the-sick-amen."

Devoting our attention to prayer.

Did you know the disciples - 120 of them - spent probably ten days praying and waiting to receive the Holy Spirit?

Ten days!

"They all joined together constantly in prayer (1:14)."

How many of us pray even ten minutes for a single thing?  How vastly different would our lives look if we truly devoted ourselves constantly to prayer?  If, instead of praying for thirty seconds before a meeting for guidance to make decisions...what if we spent the meeting praying until God provided an answer?

What if, instead of praying a single prayer for healing or blessing or the Spirit's power...what if we got on our knees and prayed until God answered?

Can you imagine the power He would display through our lives?