Holy Spirit Power
By Sue Smith
His eyes were wide like saucers. “What did you do? What WAS that?” I had to admit, I didn’t really know what had happened, as I looked at my hands, which seemed to be looking as ordinary as usual.
Seconds before I had laid those hands on this guy and prayed for him. In the middle of a party. And something supernatural happened that blew him out of the water … it sure as heck wasn’t me or my hands.
I was just 16, and finding out that the Holy Spirit can work through weak and sinful individuals like me in order to bless, heal and touch other people. He just needs invitation. The guy had been very distressed, and nothing I said could bring any comfort to him. I knew there was only one thing that would really be able to help. “Have you heard of Jesus?” I asked.
It was as if the music stopped and everyone swivelled around to look, but it was too late now. I ploughed on, and ended up praying for Jesus to touch his life. And he did.
This power to make a difference in the world, utterly above and beyond our own capabilities, comes from the very Spirit of God living in us. The One who dwelt in the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies now dwells in us. Thanks to the cleansing blood of Jesus, our lives have become a holy place for God to set up a base of operations.
I’d say the degree to which we walk in the Spirit is the degree to which we are willing to let him run riot in our lives. It is not a matter of being perfect, but of praying in faith, and giving him permission. Much like the way we came into the Kingdom of God in the first place – on no merit of our own, but by our agreement and desire; our confidence that the blood of Jesus was enough. It is Jesus who did the hard work on the cross that makes us acceptable to God, and it is that same perfect work that means that whenever we ask God to fill our cleansed lives with his Spirit, he will. Jesus promised:
“I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you… If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:11-13)
We have that promise, but also we have God’s command in Ephesians 5:18 – “Be filled with the Spirit.”
God is serious about this. The world needs nothing less than the power of God himself. It’s easy to slip back into human ways and to miss out on the super human destiny we’re called to.
Ask yourself, could a kind atheist person be doing just as much good as me? If the answer is yes, then maybe you need to go back to God and ask to be filled with his Spirit. We should be living lives that are utterly impossible to live without the power of Jesus at work.
When the Bible tells us to “be filled” in Ephesians 5, the verb is continuous because, let’s face facts, we leak. We need to constantly go back to God and ask him to fill us again, putting away sin, fear and doubt, and trust him to answer. Do not settle for an ordinary human existence, but invite the Holy Spirit to take charge and show what he can do through you.
Yes, you.
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