He
commanded them that they should…wait for the promise of the Father, which,
saith He, ye have heard of Me. Acts 1:4
In the lives of the Old Testament
saints, waiting was one of the words in which they expressed the
posture of their souls toward God. They waited for God and waited upon God.
Sometimes we find it in Holy Scripture as an experience:
“Truly
my soul waits upon God” (Psalm 62:1).
At other times it is a plea:
“Be
gracious unto us; we have waited for Thee” (Isaiah 33:2).
Frequently, waiting encourages a person to
persevere in a work that is difficult:
“Rest
in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7).
Our Lord uses the word waiting in
regard to the promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit. What had been so deeply
woven into the very substance of the religious life and language of God’s
people was now to receive a new and a higher application.
As they waited for the manifestation of God to
come, so we must wait. We wait on the Father and the Son for ever-increasing
inflowings and workings of the Spirit. We wait for His moving, leading, and
strengthening, to reveal the Father and the Son within us.
Begin in simple faith in God’s Word to
cultivate the quiet assurance: the Holy Spirit is dwelling within me.
Acknowledge in faith and thanksgiving that the
Holy Spirit is in you. Each time you enter your closet to speak to God, sit
quietly to remember and believe that the Spirit is within you. Appear before
God and confess to Him until you become fully conscious that you are a temple
of the Holy Spirit.
Now you are in the right posture for taking
the second step: asking God very simply and quietly to grant you the power of
His Holy Spirit. Ask the Father who is in heaven that His almighty Spirit may
come forth from Him in greater life and power as the indwelling Spirit. Ask
this on the ground of the promises. Believe that He hears and that He does it.
You do not have to feel anything in your heart at once. You are to believe,
that is, to rest in what God is going to do even though you do not feel it.
Then comes the waiting. Wait on the Lord. Wait
for the Spirit. Quiet your soul and give the Holy Spirit time to give the
assurance that God will grant Him to work mightily.
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