“…but commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which , saith he, ye have heard of me…” Acts 1:4
In Charles Fry’s great hymn, “Come, Thou Burning Spirit,” he writes in the refrain: “Come, oh, come, Great Spirit (the Holy Spirit), come! Let the mighty deed be done; Satisfy our soul’s desire, See us waiting for the fire, Waiting, waiting, See us waiting for the fire.” Here is the expression of the desire and will of an individual’s heart who is pursuing God according to a promise. That promise is one of the most blessed and glorious of Scripture, for it is the basis for certainly receiving the very mighty and profound working of God in the life. The prayer is based upon a promise. Jesus calls it, “The promise of the Father.” It is a promise that Peter will also proclaim on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. That certain promise was realized that day when the Spirit of the Lord was poured out “upon all flesh.” (Joel 2:28)
Jesus had spoken to His disciples concerning the coming of the Spirit when He said: “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter; that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive…” (Jn. 14:16-17) He adds to that promise a glimpse of the effect of the promise by saying: “I will not leave you comfortless; I WILL COME TO YOU.” (v.18) The giving of the Spirit by the Father, is one whereby Christ is given to the believer, to dwell in him, fill him, lead and keep him. This “poured out” one will “teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever, I have said unto you.” (v.26) He even adds the following by saying: “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, He shall testify of Me: and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning.” (Jn.16:26,27) Jesus is speaking of that great moment in Jerusalem, on the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit was specifically poured out in power, a promised power, so that all the disciples gathered on that day would be empowered to testify of God, and Christ, by declaring the wondrous works of God to all that would hear. On that day, and in that place, the course of history of the world was changed, for God had come down by the Spirit, not to just bless a nation, but the entire world through the individual indwelling in the heart of everyone who would truly believe in Christ. God, by the Spirit, had come to communicate the very life of Christ to, and through the believer, and this not only providing eternal life, but the witness of that life to the world. The question then becomes, “Has this blessing ceased, or become inaccessible?” “Or is there a reason for which we do not know and live in the reality of Christ’s indwelling, according to His power by the Spirit?”
There is a very real pattern in Scripture which unveils to us God’s ways in dealing with us. Either in nature, or circumstances, by the testimony of those who love Christ, or by the very manifestation of Christ by the Spirit discovered in the word of God, God REVEALS Himself to the heart. It is in the form of a perception, becoming conviction, of the truth of God, in Christ. We might call this being given a “vision” of Christ, not in the sense of a great heavenly one, though this is possible, but by the revealing of the truth to the heart in convicting, convincing power.
Secondly, there is the practical application to the life and heart in response to that vision. This response is believing prayer. Jesus gave a vision of the Spirit’s coming according to a promise. Christ prayed the Father to give the Spirit. Now the disciples must pray to receive Him.
Dear Father, Send Thy blessed Fire. In Jesus’ name, Amen.