The Spirit Empowered Life – Day 134 – Acts 4:31 – When They Had Prayed – Growing As Disciples
And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:31 (ESV)
Your Power
I know one thing for sure. What do you know for sure? I know that I cannot do the work of ministry under my own power, with my own strength. How do you know that to be true? Lots of failure, lots of barren and fruitless efforts. I have a great deal of experience failing to bear fruit for your kingdom and bring glory to your name because I relied on my own efforts to try to accomplish your purposes. In many cases, the goal I had in mind was good. Trying to accomplish even a good goal with human efforts is doomed to fail. Why is that? You want me to rely on you. You want me to live in an intimate relationship with you. You want to work in and through me. You want me to know without a doubt that you have enabled me to go and do your will. I strongly suspect that these desires of yours are far more important than my success or failure in any given effort. That is correct.
Let me ask you a question. I’m listening. If you could do my will with your efforts, under your own power, who would get the credit? Who would people be drawn to if you were able to accomplish my purposes all by yourself? I see your point. The goal is for people to come to know and love and follow and serve you. The goal is not for me to be able to impress others with my great accomplishments. That is correct.
What do you want? I want to live in an intimate relationship with you. I want to rely fully on you. I want your hand to be on me. I want you to work in and through me. I want to bear fruit for your kingdom and bring glory to your name. I want others to come to know and love and follow and serve you because of what they see of you in my life. Then we both want the same thing. Yes, we do. Keep on praying. Keep on relying on me. Keep on allowing me to work in and through you. Yes, I will. That will be very good.
Holy Spirit, I know I am powerless to do the work of ministry, by relying on myself. Fill me with your power. Make me able to do the work of ministry. Accomplish through me what I could never do by myself. Holy Spirit, I will rely on you. Help me to bear fruit. Amen
Key Question… When has the Holy Spirit filled you and made you able to powerfully do the work of ministry?
Living It Out… Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you His power to do the work of ministry.
Seeing It Happen… Have faith that the Holy Spirit will fill you and powerfully work through you to do the work of ministry.
Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group how the Holy Spirit has powerfully worked through you.
Prayer To Bless Others… May you pray and be filled by the Holy Spirit to do the work of ministry.
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