Acts 1 3 After his [Jesus’] suffering, he presented himself to them [the disciples] and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 

Acts 1 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 1 6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

Acts 1 .  8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

What would have been your next act of faith waiting for the promise of the Holy Spirit?

Acts 1 12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem  from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.

Acts 1 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Prayer: the most God-engaging activity of the Early Church 10 of the remaining 18 chapters of Acts Acts 2:42 Acts 3:1 Acts 4:23-31 Acts 6 Acts 8 Acts 9

Why isn’t Mosaic…the church in Spokane…the majority of believers in Jesus in Spokane…known as praying people?

What would it take for our prayer experience/life to change so much that it actually mirrored the early church?

#1. Prayer will absolutely help you be consumed by the love of Jesus #1. Prayer will absolutely help you be consumed by the love of Jesus. Ephesians 3:14-19

Ephesians 3:17— “…that Christ may dwell in your hearts  through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

"God designed the human machine to run on Himself "God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other.“ (C.S. Lewis)

#2. Praying helps us overcome temptation. Luke 22 40 “Pray [in order] that you will not fall into temptation.

#3. Praying brings victory in the daily battles of life. Ephesians 6:10-22 18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions  with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.  19 Pray also for me….”

“If prayer stands as the place where God and human beings meet, then I must learn about prayer. Most of my struggles in the Christian life circle around the same two themes: why God doesn’t act the way we want God to, and why I don’t act the way God wants me to? Prayer is the precise point where those themes converge.” (Philip Yancey)

#4.) Prayer enables me to DISCERN & DO the will of God. James 1:5 Luke 6:12-16

“I find that the chief purpose of prayer in seeking God’s will is that prayer gets my will into an unbiased state. Once my will is unprejudiced about the matter, I find God suggests reasons to my mind why I should or should not pursue a course.” (John Wesley)

“The difference between talking about prayer and praying is the same as the difference between blowing a kiss and kissing.” (G. K. Chesterton)

#5.) Prayer enables us to DO God’s will on earth, to do the miraculous. John 14:12-14  12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they [lit. “he/she”—3rd p. sing.] will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

#5.) Prayer enables us to DO God’s will on earth, to do the miraculous. John 14 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

#6.) Prayer changes what everyone experiences in heaven as well as on earth. Matthew 6:11—“… your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

#6.) Prayer changes what everyone experiences in heaven as well as on earth. Revelation 5-- “And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.”