WEEK 2: SOAK! EXPERIENCING THE LEADING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
SOAK TO BE LED BY THE SPIRIT… Welcome to week two of Prayer and fasting.
Last week, we worked on unblocking what hinders the rivers from flowing. The invitation this week is to soak. The Holy Spirit does not fill us just for the sake of it; HE FILLS US TO LEAD US. The heartbeat of the Spirit’s function in the believer’s life is being LED (it is those who are led by the Spirit of God that are sons of God—Rom. 8:14). The Holy Spirit is also the antidote to the sinful nature [Live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature (Gal. 5:16)]. The Holy Spirit is the Power behind anointed service. Of Duncan Campbell, it is said, “The Holy Spirit anointed his ministry and God used him powerfully. The key was not Campbell’s preaching skills but God’s powerful presence. The difference the Holy Spirit makes is astronomical. No one, no matter how creative or talented, can duplicate or manufacture what the Spirit can do in the life of someone yielded to God.”[1]
How does the Holy Spirit lead believers? The experience of Christ and the Early Church is instructive. Notably, Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit during Baptism. From there, we find Christ under the Leadership of the Holy Spirit. This shall form the backbone of our prayers this week. Welcome to prayer!
MONDAY: AFFIRMATION OF IDENTITY: Believers are led to a firm, unshakable identity and affirmation by the Father, By Experiencing the Holy Spirit.
Matt 3:16-17: As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
There is a long silence in the earthly life of Christ from age twelve to thirty. But right after, Jesus prepared for the public ministry by the power of the Holy Spirit by getting down the Jordan to be Baptized, where He was filled with the Holy Spirit and was led henceforth. The first often overlooked leading by the Holy Spirit was the affirmation of Christ’s true identity. The voice of the Father was heard, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
The first and most profound experience of the Holy Spirit’s leading is an affirmation of our sonship. Yet, many people in the world struggle with an identity crisis. A believer’s identity is in whom they belong to. As a believer, you are God’s child, loved dearly, and the Father is pleased with you! As 1 John 3:1 declares, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” This special identity is affirmed in us by the Spirit’s leading, “because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit
himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.”
We soak in the Holy Spirit because He gives us identity in Christ. His presence in our lives reminds us that we are loved by the Father. In prayer today:
[1] Henry T Blackaby and Richard Blackaby, Called to Be God’s Leader: How God Prepares His Servants for Leadership (USA: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2004), 57–58.