“All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.” (Acts 1:14)
When it comes to making important decisions these days, people turn to the Internet. They research the various options, their pros and cons, as well as what others say about the choices. The opinions of others carry great weight, especially those with credentials or celebrity status. Sometimes, however, people will consult seers and fortunetellers, or flip a coin, methods which seem fraught with dangerous consequences.
That is why the method of casting lots we see here in the book of Acts may seem strange to us. As Christians, casting lots, flipping coins, or throwing dice are not means we would use. Instead we ought to consult the Lord with prayer. But this is precisely what the apostles did before casting lots in order to choose a new apostle to replace Judas.
After Jesus ascended into heaven, the Apostles realized that they were a new community of faith, albeit a sect of the Jews but with a difference: a risen Savior and Lord. Jesus had commanded them to go and spread the gospel and baptize all nations in His name, but they did not know how to do it and probably lacked the courage despite having witnessed the miracle of the Resurrection. So they stayed together in fellowship and prayer. In prayer they realized that as a new community, the new Israel, they needed to have 12 apostles, or 12 leaders to represent the original 12 tribes, the 12 patriarchs. Their community had been fractured by the betrayal and suicide of Judas and had to be restored to its fullness. The choice was made by casting lots so that the Lord would be the one who chose the one man He desired to represent Him on earth.
Today when we want to discern the Lord’s will we do not use random means. We must realize that the apostles fist consulted the Lord to discern the will of the Lord in those few days before they received the divine infilling. When we are faced with decisions we too must consult the Holy Spirit who indwells the Church as well as the Christian heart. We do so through prayer, reading the Scriptures, and consulting other our pastors and our brethren. We then wait on the Lord until He reveals clearly to us what He would have us do. His choice is revealed by means of His Word, our own reasoning, other people, or circumstances. But the Lord must be glorified by it all. He will never have us choose sin.