Acts 1:21-26

[clarkthompson]

Acts 1:21-26 New American Standard Bible
21 Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us— 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.” 23 So they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all people, show which one of these two You have chosen 25 to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.

These are my thoughts.

21 They needed to choose the replacement for Judas with someone who not only had faith but experiences that they shared with the other disciples.
22 This would be the whole ministry of Jesus and they had to be there so they could faithfully ministry to others about Jesus and share Him with the world.
23 It is not clear how many people of the 120 this would include. These might have been the only two who met all the qualities that they were looking for.
24-25 They had been in prayer and now they pray again specifically for who God chooses for them to replace Judas. We are to be in prayer for roles of the church to be filled by how God has picked. We also should be praying for where we are to be used best by the Lord in service to Him through the church.
26 The drawing lots often was seen as letting God decide but seeing how God could speak directly I don't understand how much they would need to decide that way or if we are meant to use some form of us today. Matthias was chosen. It has been said that Paul would be who God chose instead of Matthais but this isn't certain either. Casting lots may not have been the best way to decide but it is part of our church history. We should be submissive to everything God decides.