July 28, 2026 | The Movement - A Study in Acts by Byron McWilliams
Day 1: Available and Ready
Reading: Acts 9:32-35
Devotional: Peter was already moving, already going, already available when God placed Aeneas in his path. Availability is the first requirement of meaningful ministry. God does not always call the most talented or the most educated. He calls those who are willing. Many miss divine appointments simply because they are too consumed with their own agenda to notice the needs around them. Consider what it would mean to begin each morning by surrendering your schedule to God and asking him to direct your steps. Who might God place in your path today if you were truly available to be used by him?
Personal Reflection: What personal commitments or habits currently prevent you from being fully available to God?
Practical Application: Begin each morning this week with a simple prayer of availability, asking God to use you in at least one moment of ministry before the day ends.
Day 2: The Power Behind the Ministry
Reading: Acts 3:1-10
Devotional: When Peter stood before Aeneas and declared that Jesus Christ heals him, he claimed no power of his own. He was a vessel, nothing more and nothing less. Effective ministry collapses the moment we begin to draw attention to ourselves rather than to the Lord Jesus Christ. Pride is the enemy of genuine ministry. The miracle that healed Aeneas was not Peter's miracle. It was God's miracle, accomplished through a willing and humble servant. In the same way, every encouraging word you speak, every prayer you offer on behalf of another, every act of service you render is only powerful because Christ works through you.
Personal Reflection: In what areas of your service or ministry are you tempted to take credit rather than directing glory toward God?
Practical Application: This week, after any act of service or ministry, deliberately pause and thank God for working through you rather than accepting personal praise.
Day 3: Burdened for Others
Reading: Romans 12:9-16
Devotional: Dorcas was a woman whose life was defined by her burden for others. She saw the widows around her, women with no standing, no security, and no advocate, and she responded with her hands, her time, and her resources. Ministry flows most naturally from a heart that is genuinely burdened. When we are burdened for someone, we pray for them without being asked. We check on them without being reminded. We show up without being summoned. The widows who wept over Dorcas were not weeping over a program or an organization. They were weeping over a person who had loved them well. That kind of ministry leaves a lasting mark.
Personal Reflection: Who in your life has God placed on your heart repeatedly? What burden has he given you that you have not yet acted upon?
Practical Application: Identify one person God has burdened you for and reach out to them today, whether through a phone call, a visit, or a written note of encouragement.
Day 4: The Necessity of Prayer
Reading: Matthew 6:5-13
Devotional: Before Peter spoke a word to the lifeless body of Dorcas, he cleared the room and knelt down to pray. He did not perform for the crowd. He did not rush to demonstrate power. He sought the Lord first. The early church was not a powerful movement because of its resources, its strategy, or its numbers. It was powerful because it prayed. The pastor's words ring true: the day revival comes to America will be the day the church takes prayer seriously again. Prayer is not a warm-up act before the real ministry begins. Prayer is the ministry. Everything else flows from it.
Personal Reflection: How much of your ministry and daily life is genuinely bathed in prayer? What would change if prayer became your first response rather than your last resort?
Practical Application: Set aside a specific, uninterrupted time for prayer each day this week. Do not fill the time with requests alone. Spend at least half of that time listening, waiting, and worshipping.
Day 5: Fruitfulness Through Faithfulness
Reading: John 15:1-11
Devotional: After Aeneas rose from his bed, the residents of Lydda and Sharon turned to the Lord. After Dorcas was raised, many in Joppa believed. The miracles were not ends in themselves. They were instruments pointing people to Jesus Christ. Fruitfulness in ministry is always the result of faithfulness in ministry. You may never see a physical healing take place through your prayers. But a word spoken in love, a meal delivered to a grieving family, a hand extended to someone who has fallen, these acts of faithful ministry point people toward the Lord just as surely as any miracle. Stay faithful. God produces the fruit.
Personal Reflection: Where in your life have you grown discouraged in ministry because you have not yet seen visible fruit? How does today's reading reframe your understanding of faithfulness?
Practical Application: Commit to one specific act of faithful ministry this week without any expectation of recognition or visible result, trusting God to use it according to his purposes.