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CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
THE WORD OF THE LORD
Acts 3:1–10 NIV
One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
CONSIDER THIS . . .
Lorinda went through one of the most challenging experiences any woman can face—a battle with breast cancer. In her most difficult moments in the hospital, the Lord sent a night nurse (who was also a breast cancer survivor) who prayed with her one evening and another woman who gave her a book of encouragement and a crocheted cross.
God’s presence and peace displaced fear in her heart. She remembered praying, “God, if I’m going to go through this, then make it count.” She claimed Romans 8:28 as a promise and held on to Jesus, knowing that God wastes nothing that happens to us. The hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” became a daily source of strength to her.
Many years later, Lorinda now meets with and prays for other breast cancer patients. When she looks at her scar, she remembers, “That is a battle wound. You are a warrior. Because you are my daughter, you are a princess. You are a warrior princess.” The encouragement Lorinda freely received she freely gives.1
Peter and John are on their way to the temple. It’s time for a prayer meeting, and they are committed. But a funny thing happens on the way to the prayer meeting, and Luke wants to make sure it gets written down.
The man who is lame from birth is being carried, as he must have been for many years (who did the carrying?), to the gate called Beautiful. What a priceless setting for the scene to follow. He must have avoided their eyes, perhaps in expectation of rejection or because of habitual shame over his condition.
Back then, it was believed that your hidden sins (or those of your parents) would find you out and God’s judgment would manifest as some horrible condition. This is why good theology matters. Can you imagine living under that unwarranted stigma? That is why some religious leaders assumed (and taught) that sin had put the man in this unthinkable situation.
Peter asks the man to look them in the eyes, as if to say, “You have been seen; now see us!” Peter has no money, but looking at the man, he tells him (in the name of Jesus) to get up and walk. What a scene! At the gate called Beautiful, a man is healed of a lifelong disability. There is walking, jumping, and praising God! I like to believe there was also skipping, spinning, and even prancing—and maybe others joined in.
You may not have money to give today. But you always are rich, overflowing with the gifts of the Spirit for those in need.
Peter said, “What I do have I give you.” Peter owned the gifts that God had given. He walked in confidence that he had them. He wasn’t waiting for a moment of “power for the hour.” Peter was dialed in to the reality that spiritual gifts are ready and available for a moment of discerned obedience.
And when Peter discerned the moment, the gifts were provided for the moment. This is where the idea of anointing breaks down and the idea of obedience wins. Peter wasn’t waiting for a special sense of God’s presence; he was acting on what he knew to be true.
We don’t need to feel anointed with a special dispensation from God to pray for someone. We discern and obey, and at the point of risk, God meets us and the person with his surprises.
And like Lorinda, often we are sent to pray for those out of the healing and care that we ourselves have received. We become a testimony that stirs their faith, as we minister to the person in Jesus’s name.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, I believe that the gifts you have given are not just for special moments but for all-the-time use to heal others in your name. Give me the faith to take you at your word and to walk in the gifts of the Spirit today. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.
JOURNAL PROMPTS
Where in your life have you been waiting to be specially anointed when God is simply inviting you to obey? Is there an area of healing you’ve experienced that makes you a testimony, and a perfect prayer partner, for someone facing a similar situation?
ACTIVATION
Today, there will be an opportunity for you (I believe) to see someone, to have them see you, and then for you to move toward them in obedience. The Father will be right there with you as you do. Expect the gifts to be provided as you obey his voice and join the Father in delivering his peace and presence to the person in front of you.
SING
Today, we will sing “He Is Lord” (hymn 268) from our Seedbed hymnal, Our Great Redeemer’s Praise.
NOTE
- This is a summary of one of my favorite stories from our “Holy Spirit Stories” on the Wake-Up Call. You can read “A Holy Spirit Story: The Warrior Princess” here.
For the Awakening,
Dan Wilt
Dan Wilt is an author, communicator, pastor, and practitioner. With roots in the Vineyard stream of churches, Dan has served the development of followers of Jesus internationally and is part of the Seedbed Farm Team.
One Response
I have been born again, walking with Jesus, for fifty years and eight months. I was born again in a home church that sang mostly scripture songs. Back then, just about everybody used the King James, so most songs were written out of the King James. The song that you worshipped with us today, Dan, had another verse to it that we sang from Philippians 3
🎶And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that ye may be filled with all the fullness of God, is to know the love of Christ.🎶