July 9 | Bible in a Year: Job 38-40; Acts 16:1-21

Praying and Waiting

Wait for the gift my Father promised. Acts 1:4

Revival! We say we long to experience it but very few of us have actually done so. Faithful prayer is vital, as we see in the Hebridean Revival on the Isle of Lewis. Two unlikely prayer warriors helped to birth it out of their consistent intercession. Peggy and Christine Smith were 84 and 82 respectively, one blind and the other with chronic arthritis. Believing God gave them the promise to “pour water on the thirsty land” (Isaiah 44:3), they interceded regularly for hours at a time. Finally, there was a great turning to God among the youth of Lewis, with astonishing conversions and community transformation.

Waiting on God prayerfully was also the catalyst for Him to move at Pentecost. Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5). Why was this important? Because even though they spent three years learning from Jesus, they needed to be empowered by the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit to share His good news with the world (v. 8). While they waited, they met and prayed continually, and were together when the Spirit came upon them in transforming power (see Acts 2:1–4).

When we consider amazing stories such as the Smith sisters and their prayers, we might look on our inadequacies with regret. Or we may wonder when God will move. Yet we can be faithful in prayer and believe that God will do something wonderful today too.

By Adrian Smith

REFLECT & PRAY

How have you seen God answer your prayers recently? How might you pray for change in your community?

Father God, thank You for sending your Holy Spirit to empower us to be a witness and more like You.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

This passage marks the second time Jesus had given the disciples their mission statement—the Great Commission. Christ had earlier given them the crucial assignment to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Here He says, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). At this point, the church has yet to be formed. In fact, at this time the believers are drawn predominantly from the Jewish community alone. The apostles had been waiting in Jerusalem, as Jesus instructed them. Soon, however, Pentecost would take place ( ch. 2). The church would take shape and would include people from “the ends of the earth.” We who believe their message are the beneficiaries of their obedience to Christ’s command, and we too are tasked with continuing to take the gospel message to the world.

Tim Gustafson

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