But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the Earth.
– Acts 1:8
That is a potent verse. Jesus promising his disciples, so me, you, every follower of Christ, that he is going to put his Holy Spirit in us with all of his power. Man, think about that, the Holy Spirit of God. This is the God who is reigning sovereign right now over 7.2 billion people in the world. He is in control of everything in all the universe, he’s upholding Mars right now. His power is on display in all of creation.
Acts 1:8 reminds us of the Lord’s power.
Think about just one, like the Grand Canyon, the God who created the Grand Canyon, so this God and all of his power has put his Spirit inside of me, inside of you? That will just knock you out of your seat if you really think about it. The power of God’s Spirit living in us and the purpose is clear. He’s given us his power so we’ll be his witnesses, so that we will testify to who he is to make him known in the world around us, not just around us, but everywhere, to the end of the Earth, so that every follower of Christ has been given the power of the Spirit, for the display, declaration of the gospel to the ends of the Earth.
That just changes everything about how I view my life today, so everywhere I go today I’m being led by his Spirit and I’m empowered by his Spirit to testify to his greatness. That changes every interaction I have. I want to look for opportunities to witness, just pray today for opportunities to witness to his goodness, his grace, and his greatness to people around me. To know that I don’t have to do that on my own, it feels awkward sometimes when I start to get into a witnessing conversation, but to know that the God of the universe has put his power in me so that I can be a witness in that moment. I don’t know, let me just pray that God would grant me and us grace today to live in the power of his Spirit and to witness in the power of his Spirit.
Acts 1:8 thanks God for the privilege of his Spirit.
Oh God thank you, as words don’t even seem to be enough, for this privilege of being indwelled by your Spirit for the amazing reality that your Spirit dwells and all of your power dwells in me and every follower of Christ who’s listening to this. Thank you for this privilege and we pray that based on this privilege you would help us to accomplish the purpose of your Spirit in us today. We pray that you would use us as witnesses.
I pray for my life, for others who are listening to this, you would open up opportunities today for us to testify to your goodness and your grace, to the gospel to people around us. When we feel awkward in that or we’re timid or hesitant to speak, we pray that by the power of your Spirit, you give us boldness to speak, to witness, to share Good News of your grace and your glory with somebody else today.
This verse leads us to pray for the work of the Spirit.
We pray that you would, by the power of your Spirit, draw somebody else to faith in Christ today through our lives. Lord we want to fulfill the purpose you have given us on this Earth, the power you’ve given us to fulfill that purpose. Help us today to be witnesses, and then leas us we pray in the days ahead to be your witnesses to the ends of the Earth. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
