“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ. (Colossians 4-2-3a)

At the church’s beginning as recorded in Acts chapter two, God moved in the lives of people bringing them life. Those who joined the Disciples had their lives changed, as had the Disciples. This change brought a new devotion. Their devotion was to God through Jesus Christ being filled with the Holy Spirit. This devotion was expressed through their actions. The actions were learning the ways of God, connecting to each other and communicating with God. The Scripture says it this way, “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42 NASB)

Devoted was a word with deep meaning. It comes from two words. The first was a preposition meaning at, to, towards, with, with regards to, or to the advantage to. The second was a verb meaning to be steadfast or to endure. The root of that verb was a noun that meant force, strength, power, dominion, and might. Devotion in the Greek language had the connotation of having the advantage with a steadfast strength, filled with power and might that will continue. All of this was evident in the lives of the new believers and followers as they learned the ways of God. That being devoted “to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

When Jesus was still with the disciples, He told them that the message from God would go from them in Jerusalem to all the nations. And they were witnesses of God’s action in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus had “opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures” (Luker 24:45) and proclaim repentance, forgiveness, and life to all the nations. Yet, they should stay in Jerusalem until they were filled with power. “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:46-49) They returned to Jerusalem and devoted themselves to prayer. They did receive power at Pentecost, but they still needed to stay devoted to prayer.

In the days after Pentecost, they saw the church grow, as daily they added disciples. However, there were challenges. Peter and John had been before the Sanhedrin as God had healed a lame man through them. The Sanhedrin threatened them, but they went back rejoicing. Their devotion was demonstrated as at their return, they prayed. Challenges also came from this growing fellowship, the church. With everyone in Jerusalem, those who had come from Greece complained that their widows had been neglected when the local widows were taken care of. The disciples gathered in order to address the problem. When they looked at the problem, their devotion was central. They could not neglect the fellowship at the expense of the teaching of the Apostles or their devotion to prayer. They sought men who were wise and full of the Holy Spirit, that is, men devoted to learning the ways of God and in connection with Him. They would work to make sure this fellowship’s needs were taken care of. The Apostles would now make sure that they would continue in devotion to God, learning His ways and communicating with Him.

It is the same today. We must take care of the fellowship, but in order to do this we must stay devoted to knowing and applying God’s Word. We must also be devoted to prayer. It is prayer where we find our power, strength, might and endurance. It is here where we meet the challenges, both in relation to the world and in the fellowship itself. Without a vibrant prayer life, both individually and collectively, we cannot fulfill our calling to take God’s message to every nation, let alone locally. In these days of challenges, let us make sure we, as God’s Church, stay devoted to the Word of God, to the fellowship, and especially to God in prayer. Remember, what Paul said to the church, “pray continually”, “without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, NIV, KJV)

In the Love of Jesus Christ,

Michael Block