They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Acts 2:42-47

Last week, we focused our Sunday Celebration teaching on what we mean by Hands. These are where and who we create space for. We ask Jesus to bring to mind particular people He has placed in our lives who He wants us to pray for, bless, and share Jesus with; a person for each finger. We ask Him also to show us where He has placed us and given us influence, wanting us to bring His Kingdom into that place; this, we think of as our palms. There can of course be more than five people and more than one palm, but the point is: we’re asking Jesus to highlight certain people and spaces to us, not just making it up ourselves. As disciples we should be trying to join in with what He is already at work doing, working together to help those in need and ensure His will is done.

As always prayer is at the heart of this. We use our hands as prompt to pray and during our time with God, we listen to Him as He points out specific people and places He wants us to pray for, work with and and help mould as He wants. We ask Him to move and pray for discernment to join in with what He’s doing. Therefore our hands aren’t just static in prayer, they are also working, active, to help make a difference or those He brings to our minds.

Here’s a summary of the talk Sam did on Sunday that expands on Hands further:

A Prayer For Discernment

Father God
We thank You for this day. Father, You are the same today as You were yesterday, and as You are tomorrow. Since the beginning of mankind, You sought to have a relationship with Your creation, to instruct us in the way that we ought to go. Father, today we pray for discernment. We pray that the Holy Spirit that indwells within us with give us a peace beyond understanding to know precisely when something is You, and when something is not. Father, we want to be obedient to Your call in our lives. We pray for such discernment to not only make wise choices, but in the course of it all to know we can trust Your guiding hand.
In Jesus Name
Amen

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20