These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
After Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, his closest followers gathered together in Jerusalem, waiting for the Holy Spirit he had promised would come. Rather than scattering in confusion or fear, they stayed united and prayed — constantly, together. Luke, the author of Acts, makes a point to mention women in this group (unusual to highlight in that era), Mary the mother of Jesus, and Jesus's own brothers — family members who had earlier in the Gospels been skeptical of his mission. This small detail shows us that something had changed in them, and it paints a picture of who the very first church actually was: a diverse, unlikely community held together by prayer while they waited for what came next.
Father, it's easy to pray alone and harder to pray together. Give us the courage to show up — with our doubts, our grief, our unanswered waiting — and to stay. Remind us that you meet us in the rooms where people gather in your name, even when none of us are sure what comes next. Amen.
There's something tender about this verse. Just days after watching Jesus disappear into the clouds, this band of people didn't organize a committee or draft a five-year strategy. They prayed. Together. Constantly. And notice who was in that room — not just the famous disciples, but unnamed women, and Jesus's brothers, who had once stood outside a crowd and tried to pull him away because they thought he'd lost his mind. Grief and resurrection have a way of changing people like that. You don't have to be theologically polished or spiritually "arrived" to show up and pray with others. The early church was built on people who had failed, doubted, and wandered — and who kept coming back to the same room, the same posture, the same God. The extraordinary thing in Acts 1 isn't the miracle that follows — it's that a group of ordinary, scared, transformed people stayed together long enough for something to happen. Who are you actually praying with right now? Not just devotionals alone before sunrise, but with someone, in the same room, waiting together?
Why do you think Luke specifically names women and Jesus's brothers in this list — people who were previously on the margins of his inner circle? What does that tell us about who belongs in the community of faith?
When you're in a period of waiting or uncertainty, what is your honest instinct — to pull toward people or pull away from them?
The text says they prayed 'constantly' — is that a realistic standard for ordinary life today, or does it set people up for guilt? What do you think that actually looked like for them in practice?
Think about someone in your life who surprised you by showing up in faith after a long period of doubt or distance from God. How did witnessing that affect you?
Is there one specific person you could reach out to this week to pray with — not just for, but actually with? What's stopping you from making that happen?
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Luke 18:1
Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 18:19
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Matthew 18:20
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Hebrews 10:25
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Ephesians 6:18
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
Romans 12:12
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Acts 2:42
Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
Colossians 4:2
All these with one mind and one purpose were continually devoting themselves to prayer, [waiting together] along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
AMP
All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
ESV
These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with [the] women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
NASB
They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
NIV
These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
NKJV
They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.
NLT
They agreed they were in this for good, completely together in prayer, the women included. Also Jesus' mother, Mary, and his brothers.
MSG