Constantly in Prayer

"They all joined together constantly in prayer..."
Acts 1:14a

Imagine the situation. Jesus had gone to be with the Father. After spending nearly four years following him, 120 people joined together in an upper room in Jerusalem. Jesus had promised them the Holy Spirit. But they didn't even really understand who the Holy Spirit was, and they had seen no sign of him. There must have been a sense of abandonment, a feeling of being lost, and a complete lack of direction. What would they do? Who could they turn to? They did what Jesus had taught them to do, they prayed.
    If you were to poll the people of the world, a vast majority would say that they pray. They may not be praying to the Only God, but they do pray. As Christians, we have a direct line of communication with God. We even have the aid of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. He helps us pray. We must be people of prayer. We must learn to join together in prayer. There is a dynamic that takes place when people gather and pray. God has told us that he is present where two or three are gathered. This does not mean that he is not present when we pray by ourselves. You see, the Holy Spirit is praying with us, so the power of agreement is still in effect.
    It doesn't matter what we are facing, or what the circumstances are. If we are struggling, we should pray. If we are on top of the world, we should pray. Jesus taught us to do it and he exemplified the praying man. We have our own ideas about prayer. Some think that we must go to our closets to pray, others think we must be on our knees. But prayer, in its simplest definition is communication with God. We can do this at any time, in any situation, at any place. There is no lack of things to pray. We know people who are sick, nations that have suffered great disasters, and brothers and sisters who are dire circumstances. We need to pray.
    I encourage you today, to take a new stand. Make a decision to pray more. God listens and he hears. He responds by bringing his kingdom into situations and circumstances. He truly does answer prayer. So I believe that we must be people of prayer. We must live it. It must be a hallmark of our lives. We pray, God answers, and his Word is confirmed for all to see.