Acts 1:24 (LSB)

Passage

And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen

Nearby Context

Acts 1:22 beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

Acts 1:23 And they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and Matthias.

Acts 1:24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen

Acts 1:25 to take the place of this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.”

Acts 1:26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "prayed", "said", "lord", "hearts", "show", and "chosen". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "prayed" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 23's "And they put forward two men Joseph..." into verse 25's "to take the place of this ministry...", so "prayed" and "said" belong inside that flow. In Acts context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "prayed" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.