5 Ways to Receive the Power of the Holy Spirit

God gives special powers for His children, when they face extraordinary challenges in living the life of a believer, and in the process of witnessing the Gospel of Jesus.
Before His ascension, Jesus tells His disciples to wait on Him to receive power before going out to witness about Him.

Luke 24:49 , “You are witnesses . . . but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Acts 1:8, “And you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.”

A child of God needs the enabling power of the Holy Spirit to live victoriously. The power of God is vital for the challenges that we face when we spread the gospel of Jesus. And, certainly this power that Jesus speaks about is not a one-time phenomenon. In fact, the Bible talks about how the disciples repeatedly sought God from time to time for refreshing.

Acts 2:4  That they were “filled with the Holy Spirit.”  And after receiving this power, they came back to God for a refreshing against the new threats that they were facing.
Acts 4:31, “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken and they were all filled with the Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.” See more about that here.

And not only the book of Acts, the epistles of Paul talk of this same extraordinary power available to a child of Jesus.

Ephesians 3:14–21

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from Whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.”

Now that we know we need the power of the Holy Spirit, here are five ways to receive it:

1. Consume the Word of God

God equips you with His power to enable you to proclaim His word successfully. Therefore, it is important that one must soak himself in His Word, which is life in itself. John 6:63 Jesus said, “It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.” The Bible is the Word of God and when you read it, you are reading the life-giving power of the Spirit. By soaking in God’s word, we activate our faith that helps us walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.

2. Pursue God’s Face

We need to seek the face of God diligently and pursue His presence relentlessly. The more we wait on God, the more we renew power to walk this life in the Spirit. Acts 1:13 “All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer.” It was only when the disciples devoted themselves to prayer in Jerusalem during the ten days of waiting in the Upper Room that the power of the Holy Spirit fell on them.

We must also take time few hours in every day, few minutes in every hour, and few seconds from every minute to withdraw from the world around us to seek His face. Bible says Jesus came with full of power after His 40 days of fasting. Extended fasting and prayer with undivided devotion is certainly a key to receiving God’s power. (See more on fasting here.)

Those times that we seek God should be a time of surrendering and learning to yield to the plans and purposes of the Holy Spirit.

3. Believe the Promise in the Word of God

Galatians 3:5 Paul says, “Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?“

“It is impossible to please God without faith.” (Hebrews 11:6). We cannot walk in the power of the Holy Spirit if we do not walk by faith. We need to develop a child like faith to walk in the power of God.

Luke 11:13 Jesus says to his disciples, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good things to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Start by asking today! Ask God to increase your faith. The Lord desires to fill you with His power.

4. Abide in Him

Here’s an important phase that we tend to forget. It is not enough that you receive God’s power once. We need to continue to dwell in Him. You need to take time to study the Word and abide in it. John 14 is a chapter that you should take extended time to meditate, pray and believe.

John 14: 12- 23 explains how obeying God and keeping His commandments is essential to having a life filled with God’s power. It is that unadulterated life that has access to God’s power.

Jesus says in John 15: 4,5  “ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

5. Love One Another

No I did not get it wrong. If you go on reading that verse you will see Jesus gives the commandment, John 15: 12, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” It is interesting how then Jesus goes on talking about bearing fruit in verse 16 and then comes back to talking about loving one another in verse 17.

Towards the end of the ministry of Jesus, He took much efforts talking to them about loving each other and even showing them service by washing their feet.

In other words, Jesus does not want us to simply walk in His power but want us to walk in His love. Truth is walking in His love is to walk in His power! If we are mightily used by God and do not love one another, the fruits that we bear are sour and do not glorify God wholesomely!

Therefore my friends, let us immerse our self in His word and put to death every unbelief and commit ourselves to fast and pray for His power to manifest through our lives. Continue pursuing God every single day of our lives. Live to make His name renown!

Next in the series:  What are the Gifts of the Holy Spirit?