And When They Prayed

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God

As a Christ follower I really get excited to see the things that happened while people in the Bible were praying. Great things; like the Holy Spirit coming through the open heavens when Jesus prayed. Or how about what happened to the 120 on the Day of Pentecost. While they were praying, the Holy Spirit descended on them and the place where they were praying was shaken (Acts 1:14; 2:1). Shortly after Pentecost, the disciples were emboldened to broadcast the gospel throughout the city (Acts 4:31).

In prayer, we become more attentive to God—more amenable to His will. Being attentive is what God wants. He seldom, if ever, imparts His power to us while we are frantically dashing from one appointment to the next. He wants our attention—a requirement before He fills us with the power of His Spirit. Andrew Murray said, “Prayer is not a substitute for hard work—prayer is the work!”

If you want to sense the Holy Spirit’s power in your life, then do what you need to do. Do the hard work by spending adequate time in prayer. When you do that, God will work in your life just as He did in the lives of Jesus and His disciples.

When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased." (Luke 3:21-22)