Week: Who is the Holy Spirit?
Each day we will simply pray (P.R.A.Y.) together.
P: PAUSING to be still.
R: REJOICING with a Memory Verse and REFLECTING on some verses from the Bible.
A: ASKING God to help us and others.
Y: saying YES to God’s ways.
We start by pausing and taking a deep breath:
In and out.
In and out.
We remember that God is here, and so together we prepare ourselves to be with God.
Pause
Holy Spirit, thank you for the many ways you make yourself known. Our minds are open to learning more about You, and our hearts are open to knowing You better. We’re ready for You to speak to us.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Bea
Acts 2:38
Peter said to them, ‘Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’
Acts 2:38 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Today, we are returning to some verses that we read on our Hero Day earlier this week, but this time we are REFLECTING on how the Holy Spirit appeared.
Read by Bea
Acts 2:2-4
Suddenly a noise like a strong, blowing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw something like flames of fire that were separated and stood over each person there. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak different languages by the power the Holy Spirit was giving them.
Acts 2:2-4 (NCV)
Wow! Can we imagine what it was like to see flames above our friends’ heads?
In the Old Testament, God showed His presence and power in a burning bush, by speaking from a fire on Mount Sinai, and by filling the tabernacle with fire. But here the fire wasn’t on its own, just filling a space – it was actually on the disciples.
The fire of the Holy Spirit gave the disciples the power and boldness to share the good news of Jesus with others. But here’s the really amazing thing – they were also given the ability to spread this news in different languages, without ever studying or taking classes!
There are around 7400 languages in the world today. Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: In how many different languages can we say the word fire? (We might need to do a quick bit of Googling for this one).
Jesus told His disciples to wait and pray for the Holy Spirit to come. Let’s press pause and wait for a moment.
Father God, we ASK You, once again, to fill us with the fire of the Holy Spirit, just like You did for the disciples. Give us power and boldness to tell others about Jesus.
We mentioned earlier that there are around 7400 languages in the world. It is estimated that around 190 million people still don’t even have a single verse of the Bible in their own language.*
Holy Spirit, we pray for Wycliffe Bible Translators, Seed Company, and the many other organisations who are working hard to give everyone God’s Word in their own language. We ASK You to give them the resources that they need.
As we read the Bible again, let’s listen for a word or a phrase that the Holy Spirit might want to say to us from today’s verses.
Acts 2:2-4
Suddenly a noise like a strong, blowing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw something like flames of fire that were separated and stood over each person there. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak different languages by the power the Holy Spirit was giving them.
Acts 2:2-4 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Holy Spirit, we thank You that you come like fire into our lives, and into the world. We say YES to receiving Your power, and YES to telling others about Jesus.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Acts 2:38
Peter said to them, ‘Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’
Acts 2:38 (NCV)
Let’s put a hand on our heart.
Father God, fill us with Your love. Help us to love You, and everything that You’ve made.
Let’s point to our eyes.
Lord Jesus, help us to see You, and to see others the way that You see them too.
Let’s point to our ears.
Holy Spirit, help us to hear You, and give us courage to do what You say.
*Taken from https://www.wycliffe.net/resources/statistics/, accessed Thursday 2nd May 2024
Phil lives close to a beach in the north of England with his wife, his daughters and his dogs. Phil works for 24-7 Prayer, mostly doing Lectio stuff, and helping to run Prayer Spaces in Schools. He runs a lot, usually for long distances. He likes curry, mountains, reading books and he still plays Pokemon Go.
Bea is 14 and she lives in Hampshire, in the UK, with her family. Her favourite football team is Manchester United, even though she lives a loooong way from Manchester. Bea likes horse riding and running, and when she’s older, she wants to become a vet, or a professional horse-rider.
