And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying…
– Luke 1:67
Wow, this is a perfect follow-up to what we were praying about at the beginning of Luke 1. Luke talks about how he wants to be a faithful witness. And how the Holy Spirit will fill every follower of Jesus so that we will be a witness.
Luke 1:67 portrays how the Spirit empowers us to witness.
Well, in Luke 1:67, we see this phrase, “Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit.” And eight distinct times, Luke uses this phrase in Luke and Acts. And every time he uses this phrase, it’s linked directly with the proclamation of God’s Word. Here in verse 67, it’s, “Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he prophesied.” And then some other examples where we see this same phrase. Right before this in verse 41, “Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she began to speak.”
When you get to Acts 2, “The people of God on the day of Pentecost are filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gives them utterance.” Acts 4, “Peter’s filled with the Holy Spirit.” He begins to preach. Acts 4:31, “They’re filled with the Holy Spirit. They begin to speak the Word of God with boldness.”
The pattern all throughout Luke and Acts is when people are filled with the Holy Spirit, they speak. And it’s a clear picture of the purpose of the Holy Spirit in us, which is multifaceted. The Spirit of God is our Counselor, our Comforter, our Helper, our Guide. He convicts us of sin. The Spirit of God does so many things in us. But remember Acts 1:8, Jesus’s words, “You’ll receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be a witness.”
Luke 1:67 reminds us we are called to speak about what we’ve seen and heard in Jesus.
Now, we say things like, “Well, I witness in my life.” Or, “I witness by being a good person.” But the reality is that’s not really what that word means. To witness is to speak, not just to live a good life. Like yes, of course, live a life that reflects the character of Jesus. But along the way, to be a witness is to speak about what you’ve seen and heard in Jesus.
And that’s the picture all over Luke and Acts. That when we speak the gospel, there is power from the Holy Spirit. When you have an opportunity to share the gospel, you need the Holy Spirit to help you. This is not something that happens naturally, and it won’t bear fruit in your abilities. It will bear fruit when the Holy Spirit attends your words with supernatural power, to lead someone else from death to life.
What an amazing picture. You and I can speak words today that are empowered by the Holy Spirit of God himself, to bring people from eternal death to eternal life. How awesome is that? So let’s pray. God, help us to speak your Word with great boldness today, by the power of your Spirit in us.
This verse encourages us to share the gospel with boldness.
God, we confess, we get nervous when we have opportunities to share the gospel. We get timid, we feel awkward, we feel afraid, maybe even ashamed in a weird way. We’re not sure what others will think about us or how they will respond. And as a result, God, we confess… I confess… We confess that we are often quiet, silent with the gospel instead of speaking it. And so we pray exactly what your people prayed for in Acts 4. God, we pray that you would fill us with your Holy Spirit so that we might speak your Word with boldness.
God, I pray that over my life today… Over every one of our lives, as your followers. We pray that your Holy Spirit’s filling in us today would lead to proclamation, to telling about the gospel, the love of Jesus for others today. And God, we ask that you would attend our sharing the gospel with Holy Spirit power in a way that leads people one step closer to you, whether they trust in you in that moment, or a seed is planted that will bear fruit far beyond that moment.
Prayer for the Zaramo People
God, we pray that your Holy Spirit, by your power in us, would use us today, empower us today, help us today, to spread the gospel around us and around the world. God, we pray for this, for Spirit-empowered witnesses to spread the gospel.
Today we pray for the Zaramo people of Tanzania, one and a half million of them. God, we pray that the gospel, the good news of your grace, would spread through Spirit-empowered witnesses to the Zaramo people of Tanzania. That they might go from eternal death to eternal life. God, we pray for that for them, for people all around the world, and especially unreached people groups. And God, for people around us in our lives today. We pray all of this according to your Word in Luke 1, and all over the book of Luke and Acts. In Jesus name we pray, amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all 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, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
