3rd. June. 2021. Daily Devotion.
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” — Luke 11:13
God promised the coming of the Holy Spirit about 400 years before the events in our reading for today in Acts 2. God’s promises always come true. In earlier times (the Old Testament period) the Spirit of God came mainly on prophets, priests, and kings. But on Pentecost the Spirit became a gift for everyone. This means that all of us can experience the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
You don’t have to be special. You don’t have to be perfect. The gift of the Holy Spirit is for you.
To receive the Holy Spirit, the first generation of Christians had to wait 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection, which took place at the end of the traditional Passover celebration. That is why the day is called Pentecost.
But we don’t have to wait. The Spirit is a gift that we can have right now. And the blessings we receive by the Spirit’s coming into our lives are so many that it takes a lifetime to begin to understand them all. Still, we can understand enough to have our lives filled with love, joy, peace, and much more. I suggest that you use the formula ABC backwards: Confess your sin to God (Acts 2:38). Believe that God will forgive you because Jesus has paid the price for all our sin. Ask for the Holy Spirit. And no matter who you are, God will give you the gift of the Holy Spirit. D. Deppe
Thank you, Lord, for being true to your Word and for giving us the Spirit through faith in Jesus. Amen.
Prayer for the Morning
Heavenly Father, this morning I pray for those who are beginning to know Christ: may You strengthen them on their journey. I pray for all children, and for those who take care of them, especially those who awaken them to faith.
I pray for the sick and those who are ending their lives in loneliness: Oh Lord, give them the strength they need. I pray for those who are condemned to prison or exile: Lord, sustain their hope. I pray that the fire of your Spirit may renew the energies of all your people and enable us to welcome those who do not know you. And finally, Lord, may your Church be constantly renewed, in prayer, in your Word and in your worship; in Christ’s name, this I ask, Amen.
Prayer for Unknown Needs
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on my weakness, and mercifully give me those things which for my unworthiness I dare not, and for my blindness I cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Book of Common Prayer
Your Healing Presence
At a time like this, the prayer, “hearken to our prayer and attend to the sound of our pleading”, is most appropriate. We are praying that we be relieved of the effects
of the pandemic and the stress it has caused. We are pleading for Your healing presence in the lives of all of us especially those who have sacrificed so much by their service to the suffering. Guide us in these weeks of return to normal life that there may be no resurgence of the virus. Amen.
