Single-Mindedly

“These all devoted themselves single-mindedly to prayer, along with some women, including Mary (Jesus’ mother), and his brothers.” Acts 1:14

Get together a group of people larger than, say, one, and the chances of agreeing on a plan of action, or a strategy, or even what kind of ice cream to buy can be a real challenge. My wife and I still have the same conversation we had when we were dating. (And, no, I didn’t have to borrow my parents’ dinosaur to take her out).

“What do you want to do tonight, Patti?” “I don’t know. Anything is fine. What do you want to do?” “I’m not sure, you decide.” She replies, “No, that’s ok. I’m up for anything you want to do.” “But I don’t care what we do, so you go ahead and pick.” At least we come to a conclusion about what to do a lot quicker now that we’ve been married 35 years, but maybe that’s because we don’t go out as often as when I was trying to reel in the sweetest mermaid in the sea.

Then we had children, and with children come summer vacations. Once they were old enough we began asking what they wanted. “Where do you want to go this year?” Our oldest didn’t care all that much, although he loved family, so going to see Nanny Rocky and Pa Al (my mom and stepdad) would have been fine with him. Jonathan was altogether different. It didn’t matter much to him either, except for one thing: it had to be something we had never done before. If he had his way, we would never repeat the same vacation twice.

We created a lot of wonderful memories with our two boys, camping at Lake Tahoe, the coastal Redwoods, and in later years along Minnesota lakes. But then we had a girl. Sarah was born when our sons were 10 and 13. Once she was old enough, I suppose our earning power was a bit greater, because we hardly camped with her at all. Unfortunately, once we set that pattern in motion, she put her foot down with great vigor: No camping for her!

So, following Jesus’ resurrection and ascension back to heaven and Father God, the disciples, Jesus’ mother, brothers and other followers gather daily waiting for what Jesus called “the Promise of the Father.” They were to stay in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came to fill each one of them. He would give them the power to tell the world the good news of forgiveness through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

They waited 40 days. My experience trying to decide where to go with my wife and what to do on family vacations makes me wonder about the miracle of this “single-minded” prayer they experienced. As a pastor I get to preside over board meetings once a month. In our church, the board is usually only three to five people. Though I’ve had great people serve with me, we couldn’t always say we ended with “single minds”.

With all that in mind, one wonders at the atmosphere in the upper room where 120 people habitually met while they waited as Jesus commanded. They appoint a new follower to replace Judas Iscariot with hardly a whisper raised questioning the choice or the method. And I’m sure there wasn’t a magical change to their minds and DNA so that they all loved chocolate ice cream now and agreed that the Bethany Mules were indeed the best team in the Jerusalem Donkey-basketball league.

I think there were two things that made this a place filled with such unity. The first is obvious, and stated for us: they devoted themselves to prayer. The quickest way to agreement is to pray. I have observed a handful of exceptions to this rule, but the exceptions are only a commentary on people who have lost their way already. Bring any group of believers together, and allow them to simply begin calling on God, and you probably would not recognize any of the walls that normally separate us.

Imagine walking in on about 100 who have gathered for a meeting. Among them are Lutheran, Roman Catholics, Pentecostals; even so-called liberal and conservative Christians. Now, listen as the moderator sets aside time for prayer. Listen to how they ask for God’s guidance in helping the poor and the whispered amens. Hear them ask for strength to continue fulfilling the mission Jesus has chosen for them, and see heads nodding in agreement. Watch their faces as they pray for the sick among them, and the tears on the cheeks of some who do not even know the name of the beloved friend who is ill.

Preaching can reach deep into the heart, but it can also cause us to quickly mark our territory when we disagree with even a minor point. Planning meetings can degenerate easily into one ego trying to assert itself over another. Even our fellowship dinners can be hotbeds for sharing the latest insight into the failure of those who aren’t attending. (I do stretch the truth here, but only a bit.)

But call those same people to pray, and the mood will change. The haze of human passion begins to lift and the love of Christ takes its place as we call on Him in our weakness. How much more effective we would be if we prayed together as often as we planned together.

The second source of this unity is expectation. They were told to wait…”until”. There is no greater picture of anticipation than Christmas Eve waiting to open gifts the following morning. Children are joyful, laughing, and maybe complain about why the neighbors get to open their presents Christmas Eve and they have to wait until the next morning. Nevertheless, the anticipation breathes a camaraderie that melts away other reasons for dissent.

Every time we meet as Jesus’ followers, we should be expectant. Jesus meets with us, why should we take it as just another day? Because He promises to be among us if even two or three are gathered in His name, we can anticipate all that accompanies His presence. He will be there in all His compassion to soothe any sorrow. His power is present to strengthen the weak. He attends to enhance our worship, to guide our prayer, to open our hearts to Him and one another. Expectation takes our eyes off our agenda as we wait in wonder at what Jesus Himself will do.

I remember several years ago attending a Bible Study in a friend’s home. I had come to follow Christ only a couple of years before as a senior in High School. My friend Dave and I came in a bit late and happened upon a discussion about whether the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and tongues in particular, had passed away, or whether they were still available. The discussion grew quite sharp and degenerated into two distinct camps hotly debating the issue.

…Until someone suggested we pray. And we did. Every person, pro-gifts or con-gifts, agreed that the atmosphere of dissent had given way to a healthier focus on Jesus Himself. As we came to Him in prayer, we were once more gathered around the most important “issue”; Jesus Himself.

I am not a very good “solo” pray-er, I do not spend long hours in prayer. But I love the sweetness that comes when Jesus’ followers throw aside personal, doctrinal and political differences to simply pray.