2 Samuel 21:14 – “They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the tomb of Kish his father. So they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God heeded the prayer for the land.”
Acts 1:14 – “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.”
Both of the above passages of scripture have to do with prayer. In the Old Testament passage, there was a blockage that was keeping prayer from being answered. David was established as king. Saul had been killed by the Philistines. But during Saul’s administration he had attacked and killed many of the Gibeonites. The Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but Joshua had been deceived by them to make a treaty with them so they would not be destroyed (Joshua 9). This occurred approximately 400 years prior to the event we are reading. And because Saul had broken a 400-year covenant with a foreign people, God sent a famine to the land.
Sometimes unanswered prayer is because of blockage – something is violating God’s word. The answer is not more prayer or even fasting, but rather removing the hindrance.
Our New Testament passage is a time between Jesus’ ascending and the Holy Spirit’s descending. Again, we are dealing with prayer. The disciples were constantly in prayer during this time. What was getting ready to happen (the birth of Christianity and the spread of the gospel) demanded a prolonged season of prayer.
Let us be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and to times in our lives that need to be spent in prayer. The reason we are being moved to prayer could be that God is ready to do something incredible in our lives. Prepare for that season by removing every hindrance you can think of. Let’s believe God for great things to come!