Cut out the shape of a flame. On one side write the theme for today “Pentecost”.
Place at your focal point.
Reflection:
I love the ‘how much more’ of Jesus and can almost hear the urgency and the longing in His emotionally-charged Aramaic voice.
It’s not surprising that His disciples, and the larger crowd, hung on every word. The context in Luke 11 sees Jesus responding to the disciples’ request ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’ Here, in verse 11 He gives it to them straight. Would they give their own children a snake when they asked them for fish, or a scorpion when they wanted an egg? No, of course not. They would give their children what they needed. Let us then imagine the impassioned and deeply felt emotion in His voice as He delivered this wonderful, hammer-blow line… ‘how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those that ask Him?’ The implication is ‘if only you knew’ as He said to the Samaritan woman in John 4. Jesus knew so well that the answer to our prayers for the Holy Spirit is to experience His power. His very last words to His followers on the brink of His Ascension and in anticipation of Pentecost was that they would receive the ‘how much more,’ the power of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit would edify and encourage, to enable and equip for ministry and mission.
The central motif of all Jesus’ teaching was the Kingdom of God, the breaking-in of the rule and reign of God on the earth. Jesus doesn’t just announce the Kingdom of God, in Him the Kingdom of God arrives. Many are healed, the hungry are fed, the lost are found. But while the Kingdom has begun, it is not fully here – God’s world is still characterised by pain, injustice, and death. There is the magnificence of its triumphs alongside the mystery of its tragedies. The promise of Acts 1:8 was that we would receive the power of the Holy Spirit to witness to Jesus and God’s Kingdom. From one end of the earth to the other.
Even though the Kingdom is only partially here, we long for its full coming, and in the meantime rely on the ‘how much more’ of the Father who gives the Spirit to all who ask.
Pause and Pray:
Pray ‘Come Holy Spirit’ over yourself and the five people you are praying for.
‘Living the Kingdom’ Action:
Why not, this very week, ask in faith for the ‘how much more’ of the Holy Spirit so you are able to witness to the life-changing work of God? And then offer to pray for a friend or a neighbour, a colleague in the office or the workplace, someone at school or at college. Remember that our responsibility is to pray for people out of our love for and obedience to Jesus, who always wants us to pray for the power of the Holy Spirit!
Find the full version of the TKC Prayer Journal 2023 here.
