Day 19: You Will Receive Power
Bible passage: Acts 1:4–8; Acts 2:1–4; Psalm 43:3–4
More Than Knowing About Him
Today is Sunday 19th of January 2020. Welcome to Day 19 of our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. As our fast draws towards its close, we ask for what we cannot do without: the presence and the power of God.
The writer of Psalm 43 longed for more than answers. He asked God to send out His light and His truth and to lead him to the place where God lives. There, he said, he would go to the altar of God, the source of all his joy (Psalm 43:3–4). He wanted God Himself.
The Promise of the Father
Wait for the Gift
After His resurrection, Jesus gave His disciples a surprising instruction. They had spent three years with Him. They had seen Him risen from the dead. Yet He told them not to leave Jerusalem until the Father had sent the gift He had promised (Acts 1:4).
They had the message. What they still needed was the power.
Power to Be Witnesses
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” Acts 1:8 (NLT)
Jesus went on to say what that power was for. They would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth. The Holy Spirit is given so that we can make Jesus known, beginning where we are.
The Day It Happened
On the day of Pentecost the believers were all together in one place. There was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty wind, and what looked like flames of fire settled on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability (Acts 2:1–4).
The frightened followers who had been hiding behind locked doors went out into the streets. Peter, who had denied Jesus beside a fire, stood up and preached, and about three thousand people believed that day (Acts 2:41).
For You and Your Children
Peter told the crowd that this promise was for them, for their children and for those far away, for all who have been called by the Lord our God (Acts 2:39). That includes us.
As a Pentecostal church we call this the baptism in the Holy Spirit. It is a gift for every believer, in addition to the new life the Spirit gives when we first believe. In the book of Acts, those who received it spoke in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them (Acts 2:4; Acts 10:44–46; Acts 19:6), and we believe the same is true today.
Asking for His Presence
A Good Father
Some people worry about asking for more of the Holy Spirit. Jesus answers that worry. If earthly parents know how to give good gifts to their children, how much more will our heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him (Luke 11:13)?
Three Steps for Today
Look back. When have you known the presence of God most clearly? Thank Him for it, and tell Him you want to know Him like that again.
Ask. Ask the Father to fill you with His Holy Spirit. Receive by faith, whether or not you feel anything. If you would like someone to pray with you for this, please ask one of our leaders.
Look for the difference. The Spirit’s power is for witness. Ask Him to make you bold with one person this week.
Prayer for Today:
Father, thank You for the promise of Your Holy Spirit. I do not want to live the Christian life in my own strength. Fill me with Your Spirit today. Come close and show me who You are. Let Your presence change the way I think, the way I speak and the way I treat the people around me, and give me power to be a witness for Jesus. In His name, Amen.
Keep going
See every day of this guide on our Prayer & Fasting page.
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