Dr. Wesley L. Duewel: The more you experience God's power working in your life and through your ministry, the more you will sense your repeated need of the Spirit's new touch.
The Holy Spirit is leading you into this deep awareness of your need and your joy in the Spirit's availability to you. (Google image, Prayer with intention).
When He fills us, that is, takes complete lordship in our lives, He cleanses and gives us power to be victorious in our Christian living.
As the gospel song states, "His power can make you what you ought to be." But in the service of God, indeed, in dynamic Christian living of the Spirit-filled life, you need new infillings, new empowerings, new anointings, new outpourings of the Spirit from time to time.
In the book of Acts the 120 born again disciples who gathered in the Upper Room were all filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:4). Later God used Peter and John to heal a man crippled from birth who had begged each day at the temple gate.
Such a crowd gathered that Peter preached to them and another 5,000 new believers were added to their number. The Sanhedrin threatened Peter and John and commanded them not to speak again in the name of Jesus.
The Christian leadership group went to prayer. The Holy Spirit came upon them. The place where they met was shaken as by a mighty earthquake, and we read, "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 4:31). Many of these, if not all, had been present at Pentecost and had all been filled then.
The Spirit mightily anointed Stephen as he spoke to the Sanhedrin (Acts 6:10), and filled him as he was being stoned to death (Acts 7:55). While Peter preached to Cornelius and his family, the Spirit came upon them (Acts 11:15).
When Ananias place his hands on Paul's head and prayed, the Holy Spirit filled Paul (Acts 9:17). The Holy Spirit filled him when he confronted the sorcerer Elymas (Acts 13:9). When he prayed for the Ephesian disciples, the Holy Spirit came on them (Acts 19:6).
At Antioch after Paul's ministry, the report was that "the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 13:52). It is spiritually natural for the Holy Spirit to come upon God's children again and again, once they have been initially filled with His presence and power.
Whenever new special times of need arise, the Spirit is available to empower and fill again. God is delighted to anoint us, empower us, and cause His Spirit to flow through us out to others with their needs. As we walk close to God in obedience to His will and as we seek His face for new enduements, we receive by faith His new outpourings.
The deepest emotions are often the most overwhelmingly private and quiet. Sometimes God's presence is so sweet or so awesome that we almost hesitate to move or speak. Yet at other times God's famous leaders as well as hidden saints have broken out in song, praise to God, or loud exclamations of "Glory to God," "Praise to the Father and Spirit," "Thank you, Jesus" or other spontaneous exultations.
Power is not an emotion; power from God is inner strength and enabling. power is God's bestowal of inner holy dynamic (indeed, dunamis is the Greek word from which we derive such words as dynamic, dynamite, and dynamo). Praise God, it is often recognizable when He has added His special power to our unworthy efforts.
Perhaps most of the time this empowering has come as a personal and private experience. Just as Paul was reluctant to mention often his deepest experiences of God, yet constantly mentioned the power of God, so you too will want to strike the balance of not drawing attention to yourself, nor priding yourself in God's hand upon you, yet not neglecting to point constantly to God's presence and power so that God will receive all the glory.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Used by permission of the author and Duewel Literature Trust, Inc., Greenwood, Indiana. Creative reading style by Jean.
Ablaze for God
#19 You Need Repeated Empowering
by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
(pp. 74 - 77) ZondervanPublishingHouse
Check out the newest posting on Healing Thoughts and Prayers
#8 God Needs Some Time
Today's prayer:
 |
| Worshipping |
to be lead into a deeper awareness of
Your presence, we ask for Your Holy
Spirit to visit us during our daily times of worship and prayer.
Thank You for being ever ready to avail Your Spirit to guide and enable us to accomplish what it is You've asked us to do.
As we see our need for daily fillings to cleanse and help us to be victorious in our Christian lives, we acknowledge our lack of power within ourselves, and we realize afresh that we can draw upon You to anoint us for empowerment.
Our desire is for Your Spirit to flow through us to minister to the needs of others; whether family members, friends or acquaintances.
Help us walk close to You in obedience to Your will, and to receive by faith the new outpourings available upon request.
We ask this, Father, in Jesus' name, to bring glory to You. Amen.
Today's Bible verse-
Ps. 108:1,13 (KJV) "O GOD, my heart is fixed; I will
sing and give praise, even with my glory. (v. 13) Through
God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread
down our enemies."
Ps. 89:15 (KJV) "Blessed is the people that know the
joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of
thy countenance."
Ps. 90:16,17 (KJV) "Let thy work appear unto thy
servants, and thy glory unto their children. (v. 17 ) And
let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and
establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the
work of our hands establish thou it."
O. Hallesby: "Revivals come to those cities and communities which have believers who have taken up the holy work of intercession. A spiritual awakening cannot be brought about by force, and not by magic either. The Lord will send it as soon as it is spiritually possible to do so. In some places the battle is long and hard, and the opposition cannot be overcome except 'by prayer and fasting,' as Jesus says in Mark 9:29." (p. 80 in his book, PRAYER.)
Special earlier posts-
Sanctification 8/7/17 Jean Oathout: "Have you ever wondered just what "sanctification" means? Let's explore it today, to learn what it means from God's point of view."
Sanctification 8/15/11 "Our interpretation of what this means, may not be what God intends for us to have!" Oswald Chambers (Excellent!)
When does prayer become real?
When we actually do it! Make prayer your priority and take time to get alone with the Father. Learn to hear His Voice deep within you. He'll give you validation. When we miss prayer, we miss God's blessing and guidance of divine strategies from praying.
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication
The prayer that moves mountains!
Upcoming posts-
When we actually do it! Make prayer your priority and take time to get alone with the Father. Learn to hear His Voice deep within you. He'll give you validation. When we miss prayer, we miss God's blessing and guidance of divine strategies from praying.
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication
The prayer that moves mountains!
Upcoming posts-
#20 Do You Lack Spiritual Power?
21st- Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
Light Us Up!
23rd- Saturday's post by Lisa Buffaloe
#21 Depleted Spiritual Power Can be Renewed
26th- Tuesday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
#22 How Spiritual Power is Depleted
28th- Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
(Jean's published book)
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