One Key to Answered Prayer

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                        Acts 1:14

One Key to Answered Prayer

by Robert T. Cooper

There was this person in the community. His whole attitude toward God had to do with God being there for him. There was this woman who felt like she just couldn’t get God to give her answers to her prayers. Then there was this other fellow on social media who was upset with God because God didn’t ever do what he wanted; he felt that God was never there for him. There are lots of people like these I have mentioned.

Perhaps you can identify with these acquaintances of mine. Yet do you realize there are some keys to answered prayer? If you applied these keys to your prayer life, you just might find you had more answers to prayer. Even when your prayers seemed to be unanswered, use of these keys would perhaps allow you to better understand what was going on and why things were the way they seemed.

So, what can we learn from Acts 1:14?

The verse begins with the word “they”. The people who were praying in this verse were disciples of Jesus. They had been following Jesus for as long as 3½ years. And it wasn’t casual following. These were people who were known by the fact that if Jesus told them to do something, they did it. Lesson for us: To have your prayers answered, you must be a long-term committed follower of Christ who will do whatever He says, even when you don’t understand, even when no one understands.

The next word in the verse is “all”. We aren’t talking about one person praying. We are talking about a group of people praying. Lesson for us: Find you a dozen or more people who are praying people. Be part of a group like that.

The verse says they were joined together. The notes say that a literal rendition would be that they were continuing with one mind. This group of praying committed followers of Christ had agreed as to what they should pray and they stuck with their agreement. That way everyone in the group was praying the same thing, not necessarily with the same words, but essentially the same request. And this agreement as to what to pray went on over an extended period of time. Lesson for us: Get with your prayer group; agree what everyone in the group is going to pray; then stick with that agreement for an extended period of time.

The verse says they were constantly in prayer. Most people pray a little here and a little there. Not this group of committed Christ followers. They were together frequently and often. In this case, the prayer meeting was 24/7 for 10 days. They had to sacrifice certain other things in order to pray like that, but they were intent on getting an answer from the Lord. Lesson for us: Be with your prayer group as frequently and often as you can. Pray in such a way that your group prayer would be termed “constant” by an outsider.

Leave a comment now about which of these “Lessons for us” you are already employing and which you intend to adopt. If you also want to share your object of prayer, feel free.

Come back in a few days and share what has resulted from your change in prayer strategy. Remember, prayer doesn’t work; our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ works. He is the One Who answers prayer.

Anything But Solitaire

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                Acts 1:12 – 14

Anything But Solitaire

by Robert T. Cooper

In Christianity we put a lot of emphasis on making a personal, individual decision of your own for Christ. Yet when one reads the Bible, one gets the idea that while I have to decide for Christ myself in order to be saved, Christianity is not supposed to be an individual affair.

In the 21^st century one constantly runs into people who claim to be Christians, but they live their lives as individuals and not in intentional, continuing fellowship with a group of fellow believers. This is not the Bible way.

Looking at Acts 1:12 – 14, we see that the apostles, who had been together for the ascension of Jesus, stayed together as they returned to Jerusalem. They were all staying together in an upper room (probably the same place the Last Supper had taken place, probably the home of John Mark’s family). To emphasize the group nature, the passage lists the names of the Eleven. It is emphasized that they all prayed together. It even mentions additional people, men and women, who took part as they all prayed together.

Now is it possible that God has directed one or more people of your acquaintance to not join a local church? I suppose so. It is not my place to judge. Those people are accountable to the Lord, not to me.

Yet that would seem to be the exception, not the rule. Since we are to study together, to pray together, to be in fellowship with one another, to break bread with one another, since we are to form ministry-evangelism groups together, since there are no “lone ranger” Christians in the Bible, it seems that most all of us should be active in the fellowship of a local church.

With respect to being part of a local church, please leave a comment as to how God led you to your current situation.

The Same Way

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                        Acts 1:11

The Same Way

by Robert T. Cooper

God is an interesting Person. For the most part, He does not repeat Himself. How many people walked with God and were not (i.e., were taken to heaven without dying) in the same manner as Enoch? How many went to heaven in a fiery chariot? How many Burning Bush incidents have there been? How many partings of the Red Sea have there been? You get the idea.

Not only that, but God treats each of us as individuals. No two lives are exactly alike. We each have a unique manner in which God leads us to grow in Christlikeness. As one wag put it, there are no cookie-cutter Christians. So if you observe a different mix of spiritual disciplines than I observe, that’s not simply fine but is to be expected. If you do your daily devotions in a manner somewhat different than me, God is making yours specific to you and your needs. If your approach to evangelism is a little unique, great!

But God also has a way of doing things so that we can recognize that it is Him. He has some consistency in how He reveals Himself to me. Moreover, the only way I can help you learn to recognize God for yourself is that He is consistent enough for me to share with you how He has revealed Himself to me and for me to recognize Him revealing Himself to you so I can point Him out to you. Unity and Diversity. That is one characteristic of our infinite God.

When Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, there were certain elements that happened. He took His followers to the ridge of the Mount of Olives just east of Jerusalem. He spoke with them there. At a certain point in the conversation, Jesus was taken up before their very eyes. A cloud hid Him from their sight. His followers looked intently up into the sky as He was going.

When Jesus comes back it will be in the same way He left. In some manner every person in the world will be able to see His return, before their very eyes. The clouds will roll back, and there He will be. He will come down before their very eyes. As He is coming down, the people will look intently into the sky as He is coming. He will return to the ridge of the Mount of Olives. (In fact, as His feet touch the ground there will be an earthquake and the Rift that goes through there will split with one plate shifting north, the other plate shifting south.) Our Lord and Savior will address the people from that position. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Please leave a comment describing how your experience with Jesus Christ has been consistent across time. Also share how it has been characterized with variety.

This Same Jesus

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                        Acts 1:11

This Same Jesus

by Robert T. Cooper

The Jesus Who ascended from the ridge of the Mount of Olives some 40 days after His Resurrection is the exact same Jesus Who will return to Earth to the very same ridge of the Mount of Olives.

There have been several attempts throughout history to characterize the Jesus of the Day of the Lord as a “different” Jesus. There have been the attempts of cults to create a Jesus with a different backstory and a different future. There have been the attempts of non-Christian religions to create a Jesus who is not a Person of the Trinity, the Second Person, God the Son, in particular. Sometimes this Jesus is a mere prophet. Sometimes He is an angel. Sometimes He is simply the Christ Spirit.

But the Jesus Who ascended is the exact same Jesus known personally today by those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The Jesus who is known personally today by Christian disciples is the exact same Jesus Who is coming again.

Those who have not yet placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior cannot fully comprehend the certainty of Christian disciples. However, they are invited to repent and believe. Then they will commence a relationship with Jesus, Who is and Who is to come.

If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, briefly comment about your relationship with your personal Redeemer.

Or

If you have not yet placed your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you are invited to do so at this time. When you do, record it in the comments section so we may rejoice with you.

They Might Have Been Angels

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                        Acts 1:10

They Might Have Been Angels

by Robert T. Cooper

So the apostles are looking intently up into the sky as Jesus ascends until a cloud hides Him from their sight. They are looking so intently that they do not notice that two men dressed in white have joined their group.

You understand that the group was at the summit of the Mount of Olives, at least on the ridgeline, and probably on or just off of the path as it crests over the ridge and drops into the village of Bethany just on the other side. Either way, the group is quite visible to travelers along the path.

Now it is possible that there just happened to be two men dressed in white who were traveling along the path when the Holy Spirit prompted them to join the group of apostles and deliver the message recorded by Luke in verse 11. But there is this intriguing verse in Hebrews that informs us that some angelic interactions amongst humans occurs with the angels disguised as humans. The traditional interpretation has always been that these two were indeed angels. Just understand that the text does not say so.

I have never been aware of a personal interaction with an angel either in its full glory or in human disguise, neither during an interaction nor upon reflection after the interaction. However, I have known of a couple of people who reported their conviction that some particular interaction of theirs had to have been angelic.

What is important in this biblical passage is not the identity of these beings as angels or humans or even one of each. What is important is that whoever these were had a message from God and delivered it. Telling others what God says is something we all can do.

1.      If you have a personal story of an interaction with someone you are convinced was an angel, please share it.

2.      What message from God can you deliver to whom in the next or two?

Looking Intently

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                        Acts 1:10

Looking Intently

by Robert T. Cooper

According to Dictionary.com, the word intent means “firmly or steadfastly fixed or directed.” Acts 1:10 makes the point that the apostles were looking intently into the sky as Jesus ascended. As a result, two men joined the group without being noticed until they spoke. That’s pretty focused!



But this is not the first time the apostles had their eyes firmly and steadfastly fixed on Jesus. It had been their custom for over three years to keep their eyes on Him. They weren’t looking intently because they had never seen an ascension before. They were looking intently because it was Jesus.

Now, the Holy Spirit must enable our eyes and our understanding if we are to see Jesus Christ at work in our daily lives and in the world around us. We must be watching for Him. Once we see Him, we must keep our eyes fixed on Him.

Once I served a church in another part of the country. Certain events occurred in the life of that church. Some young adults came to me one day saying that they were amazed for they saw the Scriptures being fulfilled in these events. They were seeing Christ at work in the events. However, it seems those young adults did not keep their eyes fixed on Jesus, for they did not continue to see Christ at work nor did it have any impact on their own consequent behavior.

God moves across the stage of modern politics (that which will in a few days be considered history). Sometimes we see Jesus Christ at work in this or that. Yet we must stay focused to follow the continuity.

God moves through what happens in weather: rain, sun, storms, and more. Sometimes televangelists are unwise in what they say about such things and in how they express what they say. Yet we know that God reveals Himself through nature. Sometimes we can see Jesus Christ at work in one way or another. But we must look intently as we do so. Practice helps. That is why some include time meditating on the observation of nature as a spiritual discipline.

God moves through our finances, our health, our relationships, and more. Sometimes we see Him as The Lord our Provider, sometimes as The Lord our Healer, and sometimes we don’t quite have a ready name for Him as He is engaged in our daily lives. One must keep a sharp eye to see how His activity relates to His plan to grow each of us in Christlikeness. After all, it is our relationship with Him that is ultimately important.

Where is Jesus around you right now? Look intently. He isn’t going away, but you will lose sight of Him if you aren’t intentional about it.

Share a story of a time you or someone around you reported seeing Jesus at work.

Cloud Gazing

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                          Acts 1:9

Cloud Gazing

by Robert T. Cooper

Jesus had said the last thing He was going to say in His human form on earth, at least until His Glorious Appearing. When He finished telling His Apostles the Holy Spirit would come on them and they would in the power of the Holy Spirit be Christ’s witnesses to the ends of the world, Jesus was taken up. We have to infer that from the Mount of Olives that Jesus’ body was lifted up into the clouds in the sky.

We don’t know how Enoch was translated. There is simply no information given. Elijah was taken into heaven in a fiery chariot. But there is no such device cited in the Ascension of Jesus. It is an event that defies gravity. It seems He went straight up rather than off at an angle. Did He ascend only until He was no longer visible to the naked eye? Did the thinner atmosphere and cold of the upper atmosphere bother Him? Did He at some point disappear into the spiritual realm, or did He keep traveling in that general direction forever? We simply do not know.

All we know is that a cloud moved into position that from the Mount of Olives the ascending body of Jesus was no longer visible to the apostolic observers. They just stood there for some time gazing into the clouds, hoping for one more glimpse of Jesus in the air. But apparently they never did catch sight of His body again.

We know that when Jesus returns He will come back the same way He left. We assume that means that the clouds will move and there He will be in the air, coming back down. We also know that He will return to the Mount of Olives, to virtually the same location from which He left. One difference in His return is that somehow, every person in the world will be able to observe the event. (Does that mean television on mobile devices? Does that mean that God will have gathered every living human to the Greater Jerusalem area? Again, we don’t know.)

from Standard Bible Story Readers

 

We know we should live in expectation the Christ’s return could happen at any moment. We should live so as to be ready for it when it happens—there won’t be time to clean up your act then!

Paul tells us that God reveals Himself through nature. Certain authors suggest the observation and contemplation of nature and of natural revelation as a spiritual discipline.

Think about that! You can go for a hike in the mountains, or go into a park, or go to the coast. Sit on a rock or lie on the grass and gaze at the clouds. Don’t just look for shapes in the clouds. Look for Jesus. He’s coming back in the clouds and it could be today!

Questions:

1.      What do you think about cloud gazing as a spiritual discipline?

2.      Are you ready for Jesus to come again, perhaps even today?

3.      When and where could you spend some time cloud gazing?