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Spirit Baptism and Prayer
When we receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit a deep, inner desire will begin to develop within us to be more in prayer to our heavenly Father:
“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications” (Zech. 12:10).
We can either yield to this God-given desire, or ignore it and continue being more of an active Christian than a praying Christian. However, if we want to experience the deep things of God and the fullness of Christ in our lives, we must yield to this desire to pray. If we want to see His delivering power manifested in our lives over everything Satan tries to bring on us and to see the power of God manifested through us in blessing others with His deliverance, we must spend much time with God in prayer.
Christians have known the importance of prayer for years. Many times we have made efforts to take time in prayer, but those special seasons of prayer were motivated by some crisis and didn’t continue for very long. Our problem is that we’ve become very self-sufficient in meeting our own needs and the needs of the church. We have learned to rely on our own efforts to do the work of God. We have been involved in much planning and many programs. We have learned to depend on the “flesh” to do God’s work. In mercy, He has blessed our feeble efforts. However, a blessing beyond our greatest expectations awaits us when we receive the baptism of the Holy Sprit and enter into the prayer relationship He desires for us. Only then will our plans be God’s plans and our activities be God’s activities.
Jesus had this kind of meaningful, deep, and powerful relationship with His Father. In fact, this relationship was so close and intimate that Jesus said:
“I and my Father are one” (John 10:30).
Everything Jesus did was under the direction of His Father. His words, His actions were all done under the direction and power of the Father. Jesus emphasized this when He said:
“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, He doeth the works” (John 14:10).
How did Jesus obtain such a close oneness with His Father? It was through the baptism of the Holy Spirit and through prayer. When Jesus was baptized with water, He prayer:
“Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased” (Luke 3:21,22).
In answer to Christ’s prayer the Holy Spirit descended upon Him and He received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Immediately after this event, He was led by the Spirit to spend 40 days and nights, fasting and praying in the wilderness.
“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered” (Luke 4:1,2).
From this special communion with His Father, Christ came forth prepared to do the work He came to earth to do. He was empowered to be victorious over Satan and to defeat him:
“And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about” (verse 14).
The 40 days of prayer you have chosen to participate in is designed to do the same for you. During the 40 days you will experience empowerment to be victorious over Satan and to be a channel for Christ to minister through you to others.
PERSONAL REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION
How will the Holy Spirit affect our prayer life?
In general, what do Christians tend to depend on more than prayer?
What kind of prayer life did Jesus have?
Because of Jesus’ Spirit-baptism experience and prayer life, how did Jesus describe His relationship with the Father?
What did Jesus’ Spirit-baptism experience and prayer life enable Him to do?
What kind of prayer life do you think Jesus wants you to have?
PRAYER ACTIVITY
Call your prayer partner and discuss this devotional with him/her.
Pray with your prayer partner:
For God to continue to baptize each of you with His Holy Spirit
For God to give you a greater desire to prayer
For the individuals on your prayer list
INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING BIBLE VERSE IN YOUR PRAYER:
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14).
Lead us into humility.
Put in our hearts a desire to be a praying people
And to turn from our wicked ways.
Hear our prayer, forgive us and heal us of our backsliding.
Spirit Baptism and Prayer
When we receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit a deep, inner desire will begin to develop within us to be more in prayer to our heavenly Father:
“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications” (Zech. 12:10).
We can either yield to this God-given desire, or ignore it and continue being more of an active Christian than a praying Christian. However, if we want to experience the deep things of God and the fullness of Christ in our lives, we must yield to this desire to pray. If we want to see His delivering power manifested in our lives over everything Satan tries to bring on us and to see the power of God manifested through us in blessing others with His deliverance, we must spend much time with God in prayer.
Christians have known the importance of prayer for years. Many times we have made efforts to take time in prayer, but those special seasons of prayer were motivated by some crisis and didn’t continue for very long. Our problem is that we’ve become very self-sufficient in meeting our own needs and the needs of the church. We have learned to rely on our own efforts to do the work of God. We have been involved in much planning and many programs. We have learned to depend on the “flesh” to do God’s work. In mercy, He has blessed our feeble efforts. However, a blessing beyond our greatest expectations awaits us when we receive the baptism of the Holy Sprit and enter into the prayer relationship He desires for us. Only then will our plans be God’s plans and our activities be God’s activities.
Jesus had this kind of meaningful, deep, and powerful relationship with His Father. In fact, this relationship was so close and intimate that Jesus said:
“I and my Father are one” (John 10:30).
Everything Jesus did was under the direction of His Father. His words, His actions were all done under the direction and power of the Father. Jesus emphasized this when He said:
“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, He doeth the works” (John 14:10).
How did Jesus obtain such a close oneness with His Father? It was through the baptism of the Holy Spirit and through prayer. When Jesus was baptized with water, He prayer:
“Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased” (Luke 3:21,22).
In answer to Christ’s prayer the Holy Spirit descended upon Him and He received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Immediately after this event, He was led by the Spirit to spend 40 days and nights, fasting and praying in the wilderness.
“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered” (Luke 4:1,2).
From this special communion with His Father, Christ came forth prepared to do the work He came to earth to do. He was empowered to be victorious over Satan and to defeat him:
“And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about” (verse 14).
The 40 days of prayer you have chosen to participate in is designed to do the same for you. During the 40 days you will experience empowerment to be victorious over Satan and to be a channel for Christ to minister through you to others.
PERSONAL REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION
How will the Holy Spirit affect our prayer life?
In general, what do Christians tend to depend on more than prayer?
What kind of prayer life did Jesus have?
Because of Jesus’ Spirit-baptism experience and prayer life, how did Jesus describe His relationship with the Father?
What did Jesus’ Spirit-baptism experience and prayer life enable Him to do?
What kind of prayer life do you think Jesus wants you to have?
PRAYER ACTIVITY
Call your prayer partner and discuss this devotional with him/her.
Pray with your prayer partner:
For God to continue to baptize each of you with His Holy Spirit
For God to give you a greater desire to prayer
For the individuals on your prayer list
INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING BIBLE VERSE IN YOUR PRAYER:
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14).
Lead us into humility.
Put in our hearts a desire to be a praying people
And to turn from our wicked ways.
Hear our prayer, forgive us and heal us of our backsliding.
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