Have you been filled with the Holy Spirit? What does it feel like? What does it even mean?
Different denominations will answer this question with their own flavour and perspective, but we all know that having the Holy Spirit in our hearts is key to being a Christian. One of the signs that we have the Holy Spirit in our hearts is boldness.
Acts 4.31 describes a prayer meeting. This meeting is not as famous as the Pentecost prayer meeting in Acts 2, but something similar happened. After the religious leaders had questioned and released Peter and John, the believers met together again to pray. And again the room started shaking. There were no tongues of fire this time, but, just as at Pentecost, the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Have you had a similar experience?
When I was a teenager I had a powerful encounter with God. I would say I was filled with the Holy Spirit and in the six months after that event I was very bold in my evangelism. I would post regularly on social media about how Jesus had changed my life. Things like, ‘If you have no Jesus, you have no peace. But if you know Jesus, you know peace.’
I regularly talked to my friends about God. I would spontaneously open up the Bible at school and explain how Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. I was probably a bit annoying. But I miss that time of life. I miss being filled with such an innocent and childlike faith and I pray daily for it to come back.
That flame is still there in my heart but, in his wisdom, God has matured the flame to look a little different. Rather like the honeymoon period of a marriage, which has to come to an end as we go back to work and get on with our daily lives, that initial excitement settles over time. In marriage, romance is cultivated and worked on over time – the true romance is expressed in faithfulness. Likewise if we look at the book of Acts, the honeymoon period changes. In fact, it moves into a period of intense persecution that requires faithful endurance from the believers.
Please join with me in praying that we would be filled with the Holy Spirit today and that the Church would be emboldened to proclaim the good news of Jesus.
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