A Prayer to Be Stuffed with the Holy Spirit
By Kyle Norman
“You can be crammed with energy when the Holy Spirit comes upon you” – Acts 1:8
In my first yr of ordained ministry, I met a person named Curly. Each week I travelled to his home to guide a service for the small group of males who met for prayer and bible research. On the time of assembly Curly, he may now not stroll and was on 24-hour oxygen. The hose that provided his oxygen ran all through his home. Throughout one go to, I arrived on the home to see all of the gents seated round Curly. I took a chair, moved it beside Curly, and commenced to guide the service. In some unspecified time in the future throughout our prayers, it was clear that Curly’s disposition had modified. He appeared to labor for breath, and his complexion appeared to develop more and more pale. The gentleman and I exchanged glances of concern.
Deciding that an ambulance wanted to be referred to as, I stood up from my chair. After I did so, Curly took an enormous breath inward, and the colour shortly returned to his face. Apparently, after I arrived, I had by accident positioned my chair on his oxygen hose! (Not my best hour of ministry)
What cuts you off from the Holy Spirit? Is there one thing in your life that dampens your expertise of the Spirit’s energy? Jesus wishes to breathe the Spirit into the lives of all his followers, however we should be open to the Spirit’s presence. Internally, we should be receptive to the Spirit and open to the Spirit’s work.
That is what we see on the day of Pentecost. The disciples are all collectively in a single place. They’d witnessed Christ’s resurrection and ascension, however they nonetheless had many questions. They don’t understand how every part matches collectively. They usually had but to step ahead in ministry. Instantly, with out warning, they hear a sound like a mighty wind. Tongues of flame seem to fall from the foundation high, resting on every one in every of them. The Holy Spirit – who has all the time been current however not all the time acknowledged – now descends upon them in a strong manner. Such is the outside frenzy of the day of Pentecost.
However the true energy of that day occurred internally. Internally, the disciples really feel the internal vibrancy of religion pulsating inside them. With the Spirit comes readability about Jesus. Now, there’s a sure energy and drive to their prayers because the Spirit strikes by way of their phrases to have an effect on individuals round them. And if that weren’t sufficient, the disciples appear to have an inward power and boldness to step exterior of their zones of consolation and let different individuals know the excellent news of who Jesus is.
The disciples didn’t quench the Spirit’s work, and so they didn’t resist it. They started to witness to others, not as a result of that they had a plan or a method, however as a result of they have been following the place the Spirit was main. The prayers they prayed have been fueled with energy and effectiveness, not as a result of they uncovered secret phrases and techniques however as a result of they allowed the Spirit to work by way of them. This was the Christian life the disciples lived, and it drastically modified the world round them.
Sadly, many individuals mistakenly suppose that Pentecost is only a previous occasion and that the Holy Spirit is just not as current with them as with different, extra seasoned individuals of religion. The heartbeat of the Holy Spirit is a actuality for the individual of religion. We will no extra deny Christ’s resurrection than we will deny the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives. The Holy Spirit’s bestowal isn’t dependent upon us, our abilities or aptitudes, our holiness, or our spiritual efforts. No, the sealing of the Holy Spirit is promised by Christ himself, given as a present in testimony to Jesus’s Lordship.
The identical actuality that was current for the disciples is current in our lives. Which means the fireplace of the Spirit, and what the Spirit did for the early disciples, can be accessible to us. The Spirit is all the time accessible to us, and if we’d like a contemporary reminder of the Spirit in our life, all that we have to do is attain out and ask.
Let’s pray:
Almighty God, I thanks for the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life. I do know that the Spirit is all the time current, all the time working. However the stresses and struggles of life can imply that I don’t acknowledge the Spirit; I’ll even shut myself off from the Spirit’s work. However nonetheless, in your grace, you promise that the Spirit is given to me, an affidavit to the covenant you made with me in my baptism. I pray that you simply renew me and my religion with the facility of your Spirit. Ship the fireplace of the Spirit over me, as on the day of Pentecost. In religion, I open myself to the Spirit’s work in my life. O Holy Spirit, work by way of me. Information me into all reality, lead me deeper in religion, encourage my prayers and work forcefully by way of these prayers, and stretch me past my comforts to the locations of ministry and witness. Come, Holy Spirit, come. Fill me anew. Set me afire. Breathe in me and work by way of me. Amen.
Picture Credit score: ©iStock/Getty Photos Plus/sakepaint
The Reverend Dr. Kyle Norman is the Rector of St. Paul’s Cathedral, positioned in Kamloops BC, Canada. He holds a doctorate in Religious formation and is a sought-after author, speaker, and retreat chief. His writing may be discovered at Christianity.com, crosswalk.com, ibelieve.com, Renovare Canada, and plenty of others. He additionally maintains his personal weblog revkylenorman.ca. He has 20 years of pastoral expertise, and his ministry focuses on serving to individuals overcome occasions of non secular discouragement.
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