What Are You Devoted To?
Acts 1:14 describes the earliest Christians in this way: “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer….” This verse captured my imagination. What was it about the prayer life of the early church that caused Luke to describe them as “devoting themselves to prayer.” Was it the amount of time they spent praying? Did they spend hours together for the purpose of prayer? Was it the intensity of their prayers? Did they express deep emotion and intensity through their prayers? Was it that prayer was so regular and normal for them? Maybe it was a little bit of all of these things.
That got me wondering. If Luke were to spend time among us today as Christians how would he describe us? Could it be said of us that we are devoted to prayer? Is the church of 2022 devoted to prayer? Even if I answer the question as charitably as possible I would be forced to say no. If you want to have a small gathering, just call it a prayer meeting. If you look at the length of time the average Christian congregation spends praying together we would be underwhelmed. When you look at the intensity of our prayers the same would also be revealed. By and large Christians today and churches cannot be said to be devoted to prayer.
What are we devoted to? Sadly it seems to other pursuits. We are devoted to our favorite hobbies. We are devoted to our dreams. We are devoted to our lifestyles. We are devoted to fame and influence. I’m probably leaving out some things. But with all these other devotions, there simply isn’t time to be devoted to prayer. It’s not that Christians today don’t want to be devoted to prayer, its that we are simply too distracted and we have so many other resources that we don’t feel the need.
What would it take for Christians today to become devoted to prayer? First, we need to realize the value of being devoted to prayer. Prayer is not some boring ritual we engage in to cross off our spiritual to-do list. Prayer is an opportunity to converse and connect with our Heavenly Father. Second, we need to eliminate some of the noise in our lives. It might mean less time online or schedule that allows more margin to reflect and spend time with God. Third, we need to realize the emptiness of the other resources we rely upon. Programs are no substitute for the power of God. Budgets can’t purchase the favor of God. Let it be said of our generation that we devoted ourselves to prayer!