….6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” …. 14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

The disciples express their focus on what they want Jesus to do for them. Jesus redirects them to what God wants to do for and through them. How often do I focus on what I want God to do? “God, will you now answer my prayer for ______?” Jesus responds, “Don’t you worry about that. Focus on what I have offered and asked – you have the power of the Holy Spirit so that you can be my witness, beginning at home and traveling out in concentric circles to the ends of the earth.” How often in our congregations do we fall into these same traps of asking God about what is important to us, rather than focusing on that which we already know is important to God? I want to remove from my prayer life these kinds of questions, and focus on that which Jesus is asking of me.
And that leads to the second part of the story – the disciples gather together in prayer and fellowship in expectation of and preparation for what God will do next in and through us. I need, and we as church leaders, and all of those who have heard Jesus call, need to be together in prayer as we await the move of God in and through our community. Are we willing to pray this way, in hope and expectation of God’s move of power?