Day 6: Praying For The Power Of The Holy Spirit

If something needs to be fixed at our house, my wife calls a repairman.

Let me repeat that with greater transparency. If anything needs to be fixed at our house, my wife calls a repairman.

Yes, that is because I am totally inept at any kind of repair work. It’s not just that I can’t fix things; I tend to make the problem worse.

As an example of my ineptitude, I have, on several occasions, declared that something was irreversibly broken, only to discover that it wasn’t plugged in. I can see my wife rolling her eyes even as I write these words. Her observations are typically right to the point: “It’s hard for the thing to work if it has no power.”

I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this. It’s hard for the church to accomplish its mission if it isn’t plugged in to the power source. Jesus himself said we must have the power of the Holy Spirit for the church to function as he intends (Luke 24:49; John 14:26; Acts 1:8; 4:31).

WAIT ON THE SPIRIT

Certain passages in the book of Acts are considered paradigmatic moments in the early history of the church. For example, Acts 1:8 is one of the more well-known Great Commission passages. Acts 2:1-4 describes the coming and indwelling of the Holy Spirit to believers in Christ. Acts 9 tells the story of the conversion of Saul (later called Paul) on the road to Damascus.

Another important passage in Acts precedes those noted above. The scene takes place in Acts 1:4-5, where Jesus is eating with his disciples. Jesus says, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

The early followers of Christ were to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Again, Jesus spoke of the coming power of the Spirit when he told his followers right before his ascension, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you” (Acts 1:8).

The commands are clear. Wait. Wait on the Holy Spirit. Wait for his power.

HIS COMMAND AND OUR RESPONSE

As we have been preparing for Great Commission power by praying and looking at key passages of Scripture, in a sense we have been waiting. We have been waiting to be fully prayed up and fully empowered.

Paul writes this command in Ephesians 5:18-19: “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.” Because the wording is in the imperative in the original language, we know that to be filled with the Spirit is a command.

We will take this sixth day of the challenge to pray that we will be filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Great Commission is not a spiritual sales pitch designed for someone to buy. It is an offer from God to receive forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternity. It cannot be regarded lightly. It cannot be accomplished in our own power.

We must pray for the power of the Holy Spirit as we seek to be Great Commission Christians. We cannot go forward without it.

PRAYING FOR THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

Her name was Stephanie Jackson. She died as a young lady in her thirties, leaving behind her husband and a preschool boy she adored. The cancer was swift and unrelenting.

We met Stephanie through Church Answers. By “we,” I mean a few thousand pastors and church leaders who got to know Stephanie and love her through our key communication hub called Church Answers Central.

I have rarely known someone who exhibited the fruit of the Spirit like Stephanie did. She was always encouraging. Always smiling. Always helpful. Always kind. When someone challenged her, she would exclaim, “That’s a great point!”

I miss her. Many of us miss her.

What is the fruit of the Spirit? It is when “the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

As we pause on Day 6 to pray for the power of the Holy Spirit, we are concurrently praying that the fruit of the Spirit would continually be evident in our lives. When we have the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we supernaturally manifest the fruit of the Spirit.

Pray, then, for the power of the Holy Spirit. Pray as well for the fruit of the Spirit.

By the way, we named our highest annual award at Church Answers the Stephanie Jackson Award. Stephanie is in heaven, but the fruit of her work lives on.

PRAYING FOR THE GOSPEL AND THE GREAT COMMISSION

Why are we devoting a day in our thirty-day challenge to pray for the power of the Holy Spirit? So we can become Great Commission Christians and our churches can become Great Commission congregations.

When you have the power of the Holy Spirit in your life, he will open your eyes to opportunities every day. If you are serious about yielding control of your life to the Holy Spirit, you will be amazed at the people and situations that come your way.

Remember what Jesus said about opportunities? “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields” (Matthew 9:37-38). The opportunities are great. The harvest is great. When we have the power of the Spirit, we see those opportunities.

When we have the power of the Spirit, we have the ability to know what to say, when to say it, and when to listen. For years, I worried about how I would respond to certain situations and questions when I shared the gospel or simply invited someone to church. But those imagined scenarios never happened. God always gave me the right response. It has taken me years to grasp it, but I really don’t have to worry about whether I will say something precisely right, because God will give me the words.

Has there ever been a time when you thought you did a terrible job of sharing the gospel with someone, but it didn’t seem to matter? I remember being nervous and stumbling over my words while inviting someone to church, yet the Spirit was at work nonetheless. The man I invited came to church the next Sunday and eventually became a follower of Christ. When we have the power of the Spirit, we don’t have to rely on our own eloquence.

When you pray for the power of the Holy Spirit, you are welcoming him to control your life. You are asking him to give you the thoughts, words, and actions to be a Great Commission Christian. And though all the prayers you will be praying during these thirty days are important, this one might be the most important. You are praying to yield your life to the Holy Spirit so that you can become a Great Commission Christian.

Take a few minutes and pray for the power of the Holy Spirit in your life. Pray that the Spirit will mold you into a powerful witness for Christ. He will indeed shape you to become a Great Commission Christian.