Most powerful Holy Spirit,come down upon us
and subdue us.
From heaven,
where the ordinary is made glorious,
and glory seems but ordinary,
bathe us with the brilliance of your light
like dew.
--from Celtic Daily Prayer
"Friend, it is a wonderful thing to witness the power of God as it reaches to the heart and demonstrates to the soul the pure way to life. Surely the person who partakes of this power will be favored by the Lord. Therefore, we ought to wait diligently for the leadings of the Holy Spirit in everything we do. Thus we will be able to travel through all that is contrary to God and into the things that are of God.
It is a wonderful thing to witness God's preservation that keeps us from sliding backwards and being tangled in the traps of the enemy. For the enemy has many ways and uses many devices to ensnare our minds and draw it away from the Truth. There our souls are lulled asleep with false hopes and we lose the feeling and enjoyment of the true life and power.
O Friend, do you not have a sense of the way to the Father? Then you must press your spirit to bow daily before God and wait for breathings to you from his Spirit. Pray that he will continue his mercy to you and make his way more and more clear before you every day. Yes, and also pray that he will give you strength in all the trials which may come your way. By his secret working in your spirit... you will advance nearer and nearer towards the kingdom."
--Isaac Penington (Quaker, 1617-1680)
3 Comments:
Our pastor yesterday shared a message about the holy spirit represented in celtic culture as a wild goose rather than the dove that's commonly associated. It was thought provoking to consider the holy spirit moving in our lives not as a peaceful, soft-cooing dove, but rather as a wild goose, honking loudly, flapping furiously, possibly even nipping at us to drive us to action. I know in my own life I have seen it act as both a quiet nudge and a loud push. We should praise God for all calls to action, whether presented comfortably or boldly persuasive.
What a remarkable image for the Holy Spirit.
The prayer quoted here is from the Iona Community, who have taken the wild goose as their symbol. Now I know why! Their web site is
http://www.iona.org.uk/
I heard a prophet give a message based out of Proverbs on this a couple of weeks ago. The Spirit will lead and guide us if we allow him. We seem to want the whole map but he only allows the next step. That sermon followed by this blog and June 6 reading in My Utmost for His Highest. Chambers says " Stubbornness is an unintelligent barrier, refusing enlightment and blocking its flow. The only thing to do with this barrier is to blow it up with dynamite and the dynamite is obedience to the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit will not lead me to a wrong choice. I need to blast through stubbornness and fear in order to listen to One will allow me to do far greater than I can ever imagine for His Glory.
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