“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
– John 7:37–39
Now, connect these dots together. Jesus promised that those who believed in him would have rivers of living water flowing from them. John tells us this is a reference to the Spirit who had not yet come because Jesus was not yet glorified. What happens? As the book of John goes on is we see Jesus died on the cross for sin, rise from the dead in victory over sin, and we know he ascends into Heaven and he sends his spirit, just like he promised, to all who have put their faith in him. His spirit becomes a river of living water flowing from us.
In Christ’s death and resurrection we are afforded the very Spirit of God. May rivers of living water flow from us today.
John 7:37–39 Reminds Us The Spirit Of God Is Within Us
Think about it. In John 4, Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well, “Drink from me and you’ll experience the satisfaction of living water in you,” but now it’s not just about living water in you. It’s living water flowing from you. The spirit of God, Christian, dwells in you and is intended to be a source of life flowing through you in a way that affects others around you.
Doesn’t that affect the way we pray today? God, I pray. I pray for my own life. I pray for others who are listening to this, God; for all of us who have believed in Jesus, who have tasted of the living water that’s found in Him. We pray that by Your spirit in us … because we know, Jesus, that you have been glorified. You’ve sent Your spirit. Your spirit dwells in us right now. We pray that rivers of living water would flow from us today. That life would flow from us today, that your love would flow from us today.
This Verse Wants Us To Share God’s Spirit In Our Lives
All the fruit of the Spirit, love and joy, peace and patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control, God, make these things evermore evident in and through our lives today, through Your spirit in us. We know Your spirit is in us so we might be witnesses to tell others about the good news of Your love in Christ. God, may that be so today. Make us witnesses. So God, we pray that our day to day would be characterized as one in which living water from the spirit of God was flowing through us in all that we did. May that be the commentary on our day today based on your promise in John 7:37–39. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Get Pray the Word daily by subscribing here.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
