Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Joining in expectant prayer

Acts 1v14 “They all joined together constantly in prayer.”

This coming Sunday is “Pentecost”. In the Old Testament Jewish calendar it was a festival celebrating the firstfruits of the wheat harvest. In the New Testament it is when the firstfruits of the gospel harvest occur as 3000 repent and are baptized.

The day begins with the Holy Spirit coming to the 120 gathered believers and empowering each of them just as Jesus had promised. The day finishes with a multiplied church.

In the 10 day gap between Christ’s ascension last week and the coming Pentecost, Luke says that the believers met daily and prayed continually. I wonder what exactly they prayed? How much was praise, how much requests? How much was quiet, how much noisy? How much was standard texts and how much extemporary? To what extent are our prayers caught between the wonder of what God has already done and an expectancy (and uncertainty) for something new? For us in this season, let’s:

• Reflect on what the Holy Spirit has done in our lives.
• Reflect on the degree to which I allow the Holy Spirit to have full control in my life.
• Ask for God to pour out his Holy Spirit once again.

With love and blessing,

Roland