Acts 1:14 Meaning and Explanation
“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →What does a church do when it has been told to wait and given nothing else to hold? Luke answers with one sentence that has become a picture of the praying community. The names he includes are as striking as the practice he records, because several of them had once stood at a distance from the movement they now join.
Luke describes how the waiting church behaved: the apostles held together in persistent prayer, joined by the women, by Mary the mother of Jesus, and by his brethren, all agreed in one purpose.
The Context of Acts 1:14
After the ascension the company returns from Olivet to Jerusalem and climbs to an upper room. Luke lists the eleven apostles by name in the previous verse, ending with Judas the brother of James. Verse fourteen widens the circle. Verse fifteen tells us the gathering numbered about a hundred and twenty and shows Peter rising to speak about the replacement of Judas Iscariot. The whole passage occupies the days between the ascension and Pentecost, when the promise of the Father was still ahead of them and obedience meant staying in the city.
What Does Acts 1:14 Mean?
Four features of the sentence repay attention. 'Continued' carries the sense of persisting at something over time, so this was sustained rather than occasional. 'With one accord' describes a shared mind and mood, a company facing the same direction. 'Prayer and supplication' pairs the general word for approaching God with a word for pressing a specific request, which suggests both worship and asking. Then Luke opens the list: 'with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.' The grammar keeps adding people. A room that could have contained eleven anxious men holds a far broader household.
This is obedience in action. Jesus had commanded them to remain in Jerusalem until the promise arrived, and prayer is what remaining looked like. Luke's Gospel closes with the disciples continually in the temple blessing God, so the two volumes join at exactly this point. The named company also marks a change. John's Gospel records a time when the brethren of Jesus did not believe in him, and here they are praying with the apostles. The women who had followed and supported the ministry in Galilee are present again at the beginning of the church. Power comes later; the posture that receives it is already formed.
Mary's presence closes a long arc. Luke began his Gospel with her consent to the angel and her song of praise, followed her to the temple, and recorded Simeon's warning about a sword. Now she appears once more, praying among disciples of her risen son. Her place here is that of a worshipper within the company, which is where Luke leaves her. The scene shows Christ gathering into one room those who bore him, those who funded and followed him, those he chose, and those raised in his own household. The resurrection has reconciled a family and formed a congregation out of it.
Acts 1:14 in the Original Language
homothumadon (ὁμοθυμαδόν), 'one accord' -- a compound suggesting a shared impulse or common mind, used repeatedly by Luke for the early church at prayer and at decision. It describes agreement of heart within a gathered group rather than mere physical proximity.
Bible Verses Related to Acts 1:14
“And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.”
- Acts 1:4
“And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.”
- Luke 24:53
“For neither did his brethren believe in him.”
- John 7:5
“And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,”
- Acts 2:46
Where Acts 1:14 Echoes in Scripture
Acts 2:1 repeats the phrase almost word for word, saying they were all with one accord in one place when the day of Pentecost fully came. Luke's repetition is deliberate. The same united company that prayed through the waiting is the company on which the Spirit falls. He uses the expression again in later chapters when the church makes decisions or worships together, so it becomes something of a signature for a body in agreement.
How to Apply Acts 1:14 Today
Waiting rooms are hard, and this verse gives us something to do in them. When an answer has been promised and has yet to arrive, we can gather with others and keep asking. Persistence is the point of the word Luke chose, so a short prayer repeated across weeks counts for more than a single intense evening. The guest list matters too. Households, relatives who once kept their distance, and quiet supporters all belong in the room. We might ask who is missing from our praying and make a place for them before the next answer comes.
Reflection & Prayer
Who in our family or circle once stood outside the faith, and how might we keep praying for them with the patience Luke describes? Father, thank you for a room where doubters became worshippers. Give us one mind with those we pray beside, hold us steady through long waiting, and prepare us for whatever you intend to pour out. Amen.