Expecting

I would like to focus today's post on the theme of expecting miracles as shown in Acts 1:14. The apostles and the rest of the believers came together and were waiting for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had promised them it would happen but it had not yet come to pass. I am so inspired by what they did in their waiting, they "joined together in constant prayer." When we are waiting and expecting God to move, it is often played off as a passive exercise but in this case, the apostles give us the example of a very active and fervent posture of expectance. 

In my own life, I have been waiting for God to deliver us from false accusations and our legal battle for over 5 years. I have prayed, ranted, cursed, begged, stood in silence, fasted, kneeled in repentance, and everything in between. However, the times when I feel the most confident, is when I focus on the who and not the what. I know that by simply fixing my eyes to Jesus, who is the author and finisher of my faith, I will be able to withstand anything that comes my way. I expect miracles because I serve a miracle working God. I stand on the shoulders of the saints, and their testimonies of God's faithfulness become the bedrock and foundation from where I am able to continue to wait expectantly for the promise to come to fulfillment. 

The apostles faith encourages me. They had seen Jesus die and be raised to life, only to disappear into the clouds. They had the entire known world against them, many lost their friends and family members because of their faith. And so they sat, together, praying without ceasing for the miracle of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that had been expected since the time of Joel the Prophet. They did not give up after a few hours or even a few days. I wonder, what would my life be like if I really turned aside all else, to pray unceasingly until breakthrough happens? I pray very consistently individually, within our family unit, and corporately for our miracle, but to pray constantly is another thing all together. Is the singular devotion to prayer the link to miracles? Is the focus on Jesus the thing that determines our expectancy? I feel, it would be hard to not make a correlation with the evidence that Luke gives us in Acts.