Thy Kingdom Come Prayer Journal
Day 11 - Pentecost
Reflection
‘. . . how much more will your Father in heaven give the
Holy Spirit to those that ask him!’
Luke 11:13 (NIV)
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[1]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!