"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" Luke 11:13
Suggested Format for the Prayer Time
Praise (approximately 10 minutes)
- Begin your prayer time by praising God for who He is, for His love, His wisdom, His Holiness, etc.
- Praise God that He will teach you how to abide in Him.
- Praise God that He is more than willing to give you the greatest gift, the Holy Spirit.
Confession and Claiming Victory Over Sin (approximately 5 minutes)
- Ask God to show you what sins you need to confess in your heart. Claim His victory over those sins.
- Ask God for forgiveness for not appreciating the gift of His Holy Spirit as you should, and ask Him to give you a hunger and thirst for the Holy Spirit.
- Thank God that He forgives you according to 1 John 1:9.
Supplication and Intercession (approximately 35 minutes)
- Ask God to reveal more of His character so that you can know Him.
- Ask God to make you willing to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
- Pray that your family members and friends will feel their need for the Holy Spirit.
- Is anything hindering the Holy Spirit from coming into your heart? Tell God about those things.
- Pray that church leaders (your local pastor, conference, union, division, and General Conference leaders) will see the need for the Holy Spirit in their lives.
- Pray for the unity of the church in truth and Spirit.
- Pray for continued and growing focus on "Revival and Reformation" for members, conferences, unions, institutions, divisions, and the General Conference. Pay attention to the personal aspect of "Revival and Reformation" for you, your family, your church, and your community. Pray that people will engage in the "United In Prayer" initiative by asking for the latter rain of the Holy Spirit and the fulfillment of Joel 2, Hosea 6, and Acts 2.
- Pray for every member to feel a burden for soul winning and realize that heaven asks everyone to follow in Christ's steps by sharing their personal faith through God's guidance.
- Pray for increased emphasis on personal and church-wide daily reading and following of the Bible through the "Believe His Prophets" initiative, which emphasizes the reading and study of the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy.
- Mission to the Cities—Pray for the West-Central Africa Division and the cities they are working to reach for Christ: Lagos, Douala, Calabar, Accra, Abuja, Lome. Pray also for the Southern Asia Division and the cities in India they are trying to win for Christ: Mumbai, Kochi, Bidar, New Delhi, Coimbatore, Surat, Imphal, Vijayawada. Pray that God's Word will bear fruit.
- Pray that the seven (or more) people on your list will see their need and open their hearts to the Holy Spirit.
- Pray for any personal needs you have.
Thanksgiving (approximately 10 minutes)
- Thank God for the gift of His Holy Spirit!
- Thank God for the ways His Holy Spirit has been working in your heart.
- Thank God for how He is going to save souls for His kingdom during these ten days.
Suggested Songs to Sing
"Live Out Thy Life Within Me" (SDA Hymnal #316); "I Need Thee Every Hour" (SDA Hymnal #483); "Seek Ye First"; "Draw Me Nearer" (SDA Hymnal #306); "Hover O'er Me, Holy Spirit" (SDA Hymnal #260); "Sweet, Sweet Spirit" (SDA Hymnal #262); "Baptize Us Anew" (SDA Hymnal #258).
Our Greatest Need: The Holy Spirit
"And I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" Luke 11:9-13
It is the power of the Holy Spirit that is needed. There is with you and with the flock of God a self-satisfied feeling that must be broken up. The Spirit of God is a convincing power. When this is breathed upon the church, there will be a decided change in their spiritual efficiency. The Lord God is ready to give, but many do not realize their necessity of receiving. They are weak, when they might be strong; powerless, when they might be powerful through receiving the efficiency of the Holy Spirit. Their light is dim. Arouse them from their self-satisfied, self-righteous condition. (Testimonies to Southern Africa, p. 69)
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you, And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. (John 16:7, 8, KJV)
We need the softening, subduing, refining influence of the Holy Spirit, to mold our characters, and to bring every thought into captivity to Christ. It is the Holy Spirit that will enable us to overcome, that will lead us to sit at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary, and learn His meekness and lowliness of heart. We need to be sanctified by the Holy Spirit every hour of the day, lest we be ensnared by the enemy, and our souls be imperiled. (God's Amazing Grace, p. 203)
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. (John 16:13-15, KJV)
A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs. To seek this should be our first work. There must be earnest effort to obtain the blessing of the Lord, not because God is not willing to bestow His blessing upon us, but because we are unprepared to receive it. Our heavenly Father is more willing to give His Holy Spirit to them that ask Him, than are earthly parents to give good gifts to their children. But it is our work, by confession, humiliation, repentance, and earnest prayer, to fulfill the conditions upon which God has promised to grant us His blessing. A revival need be expected only in answer to prayer. While the people are so destitute of God's Holy Spirit, they cannot appreciate the preaching of the Word; but when the Spirit's power touches their hearts, then the discourses given will not be without effect. Guided by the teachings of God's Word, with the manifestation of His Spirit, in the exercise of sound discretion, those who attend our meetings will gain a precious experience, and returning home, will be prepared to exert a healthful influence. (Selected Messages, book 1, p. 121)
The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the church is looked forward to as in the future; but it is the privilege of the church to have it now. Seek for it, pray for it, believe for it. We must have it, and Heaven is waiting to bestow it. (The Review and Herald, Mar. 19, 1895)
Christ has promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to His church, and the promise belongs to us as much as to the first disciples. But like every other promise, it is given on conditions. There are many who believe and profess to claim the Lord's promise; they talk about Christ and about the Holy Spirit, yet receive no benefit. They do not surrender the soul to be guided and controlled by the divine agencies. We cannot use the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is to use us. Through the Spirit God works in His people "to will and to do of His good pleasure." Philippians 2:13. But many will not submit to this. They want to manage themselves. This is why they do not receive the heavenly gift. Only to those who wait humbly upon God, who watch for His guidance and grace, is the Spirit given. The power of God awaits their demand and reception. This promised blessing, claimed by faith, brings all other blessings in its train. (The Desire of Ages, p. 672)
Questions for Personal Reflection
1. The word ask (aiteo) used at the end of verse 13 in Luke 11 is a form of continual asking. Why do you think God used this form of the word?
2. Does anything hinder you from asking God daily for the Holy Spirit to come into your heart and life? Will you surrender those things to God today?
|
Thursday, January 07, 2016
0 comments:
Post a Comment