Acts 4:31

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly ~ Acts 4:31

 

Adam Clarke writes, “A right prayer will always have a right and ready answer.” How true this is, and how attentive to these words we should be. These men were filled then with the boldness of the Holy Spirit. They had already received the Holy Spirit, but again, this indicates they, and we, are capable of receiving larger “installments” when we ask of God. There is power in our prayers, power to change hearts, power to strengthen our spirit, power to bring about miraculous transformation. In our prayers, we have through the Spirit of God, the power to rise up our churches, to frighten our enemy, to even move mountains. How little faith we have sometimes when we pray. So timid we come before our God, when He would desire us to pray with earnest, believing, specific requests. At times too, our prayers are an afterthought whereas they ought to be a forethought. As these disciples, we are to plead with God when surrounded by difficulties, and not try to solve them on our own. And, as I talked yesterday, we must be patient for the Lord to work in His way and His time. We cannot rush God, or demand of God, but be patient for His grace. In patience we see the blessings poured out. Finally, we can learn from these disciples to pray together in unity, for the word says they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. It is remarkable to say they were not half-full, or only a couple of them were filled, but that the power of God was so intense the building shook and they were all filled! This is what we need today! Total and complete filling of God’s Spirit to speak the Word of God to all peoples! Ask of Him today! Pray with sincerity, and you too shall be filled! The Holy Spirit is a promise of God for you and me from a God who always fulfills His promises!

Pastor Julia


Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments

Popular posts from this blog

Romans 8:26

Image
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans ~ Romans 8:26 Many days, many times, I have the words for prayer. It comes forth and flows fairly naturally as I converse with my Lord God. I hope in the God I worship to hear me, and to receive my words, as I pray in the name of Jesus and believe in Him, my intercessor. He is my Living Saviour, my High Priest, standing at the right hand of God the Father. But there are times when my pain has been so deep that my words will not come. There are times when my agony is so piercing that what words I may speak would not be enough. And so, in my deep, black moments, I come before my God and let my darkest emotions erupt in sounds that only He can understand. The Holy Spirit within me cries out in my stead, and He becomes my second intercessor. It is not that He is not there with me in all my prayers, but there are times wh...
Read more

Proverbs 18:2

Image
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in sharing their own opinions ~ Proverbs 18:2 If we are going to understand something, we must fully digest it so that when we speak, we speak with wisdom. When we have only half truths in our mind, our words become empty and senseless. We then puff out air rather than understanding when we speak. A wise person will want to improve their mind through learning in various ways from the world around them. A person who delights in spiritual understanding will find peace and enjoyment in reading the Word of God on a daily basis, and in participating with God’s people in a learning and praising environment – the church! We come together in corporate worship with the understanding that not one of us knows all things, but we bend our mind and heart to learn what God has to show and say to us. A foolish person makes a show of what they “know” to please their friends or to save face in front of them. More often a wise person will hold t...
Read more

Isaiah 43:19

Image
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert ~ Isaiah 43:19 When we meet a challenge, we are often found discouraged, lost, even hopeless. Nothing is working, everything seems to be against us. We do not know how to move forward, so we remain curled up in a ball. Then, a glimmer of light shines through! Hope is regained and movement is stirred within. Don’t we become excited when we begin to feel it? God moves like that. We cannot see our way around it, but He can and does. And He makes a way for us out of the calamity of our fears. It is the feeling of springtime after a long winter, or the smell of fresh cut grass. Life stirs within and we move and we see what God saw all the time – the answer to our dilemma. Our desert place becomes an oasis, and we can do what we are called to do. Something totally unexpected happens, something unheard of, but it begins in our life, and we feel the...
Read more