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GMBC3701

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Jesus came. He lived. He died. He was buried. He Rose. He spent 40 days after the resurrection on earth with His disciples. Undoubtedly this had to bring relief to them. They had a hard time when He was taken & crucified. With His taking up His life again, perhaps they thought times were better. But does anyone recognize that your trials & tribulations can continue even though things might be looking up? Don't miss it. They had One back that they had lost but He was there for 40 days. 40 days is a time of trial. The 40 days actually were the time of trial, whether they realized it or not. In that time, their faithfulness was tested. It had to be because Jesus was going to leave them again. And leave He did. He ascended to the Father, telling them to wait on the promise of the Spirit. And even though the 40 days had elapsed, there were surely more trials and challenges ahead.
With the 11 who were to be apostles, the mother of Jesus was in the midst. She, other faithful women, and her children - siblings of Jesus - accompanied them. While the text says that they all prayed, take notice of this mother who prayed. This was a woman who had been called a liar about her son's parentage, was on the verge of losing her betrothed husband, took a hard journey while pregnant and gave birth in a stable, had her chastity disparaged over her refusal to recant what God had done, had more babies but was compelled to ask her firstborn to defend her honor by proving who He was and is forevermore, had to watch Him be crucified, and had to watch Him leave again after He came back. If am pretty sure that Mary, after all that she had been through, knew the worth and value of prayer. I hate it when mothers go through so much. But perhaps you mothers go through so you can learn how to get a prayer through. And there, in that place, there was a praying mother in the midst. How many are glad that there have been some praying mothers in the midst?
1. Pray With People v14a
Mary, the mother of Jesus, did not abandon His friends. In fact, she continued with them. Jesus had given them an assignment & direction. He would not be with them physically and that matters. Presence with people in prayer matters because it is better to pray with people when you pray for people instead of praying alone. We are a faith community, not a faith hermitry! And you know how you can ask someone for prayer and the answer is prayers will be offered but later? Don't do that. Pray with them at that moment and in their presence!
2. Pray With Passion v14b
- Let love mingle with your praxis of prayer. Look, after all that Mary had been through, no one would have blamed her for becoming bitter & withdrawing from the world while continuing a claim of loving people. Isn't that what people do? But love is a movement and actionable. Her connection of love extended beyond Jesus. Not only was she there, her other children were there, her Son's friends were there. She was connected to them which is important because you must pray for your loved ones. If you don't love, you won't pray. Put your heart into your prayer!
3. Pray With Purpose vv15-26
- The text doesn't show what she prayed about. And I know that a large portion of the text read today is about how the 11 decided to replace Judas. But this is the reason why you need to find purpose for prayer. Jesus didn't tell them to replace Judas. He could do that Himself. The text says that the 11 stopped praying & started doing their own thing. You can pray all day and people will still do what they want. But you stay faithful to your purpose. It doesn't say that Mary stopped praying! Keep praying! Your purpose is not to have your will, but that His will be done. Whatever your challenge, whatever the situation, pray with this purpose. Instead of trying to change things, let prayer change you! Pray and pray today! Make faithfulness your purpose! Pray!