Scripture: "These all with one accord continued steadfastly in prayer." — ACTS i. 14."And when the Day of Pentecost was now come, . . . they were all filled with the Holy Spirit." — ACTS ii. 1, 4.
Our Lord gave the command to His disciples : "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature," and He added the promise: "Lo, I am with you always." We may be fully assured that this command and this promise were not meant alone for the disciples, but also for us, their followers.
Just before His Ascension, Christ gave His very last command, also with a promise attached to it. The command was : "Go not, preach not, — wait for the promise of the Father." And the promise was : "Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you ; and ye shall be witnesses to Me, unto the utter¬most parts of the earth." This very last command and promise are also meant for us. As irrevocable as the command : "Preach the Gospel," with its accompanying promise, is this last command of all, to wait for the promise of the Father — "Ye shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost."
For ten days the disciples pled that promise with one accord, and their prayer was wonderfully answered. Alas, that the church of our day has tried to carry out the first command, "Preach the Gospel," but has too often forgotten the second, "Wait for the promise of the Father." The call comes to each believer to pray daily with one accord for this great gift of the Holy Spirit. Many Christians who pray for themselves and their own work, forget to pray for the Church of Christ. The power of the first disciples lay in the fact that they as One Body were prepared to forget themselves and to pray for the Holy Spirit over all mankind.
O Christian, whatever you may have learned from reading this little book, learn one more lesson. Daily prayer in fellowship with God's children is indispensable, and it is a sacred duty if the Spirit is again to come in power. Let not your knowledge of the working of God's Holy Spirit be limited to yourself alone, nor even to your Church, but in a world-embracing love of Christ, for all God's children, and His kingdom over the whole world, pray for power.
