21 Days of Prayer: Day 21

 Author:  Danny Hauser

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Day 21: Led by the Spirit

You made it! If you are reading this devotional, you stuck with us throughout these 21 Days of Prayer. During this time, we’ve been going through the letters to the different churches in the book of Revelation (just as we have during our Sunday morning services). In our time together, we’ve been looking at what it means to be “All In” for Jesus. For Week 1, being “All In” means being set apart, as we placed a heavy emphasis on holiness in the midst of suffering and persecution. For Week 2, being “All In” means being devoted to God’s Word, as we centered our conversations on holding fast to Scripture and allowing His truth to govern our thoughts and actions. And this past week (Week 3), we showed how being “All In” means that we have total trust in Christ’s authority, as the truths about Jesus impact the way we live out our faith both by word and deed.

Now, I don’t know about you but living out these principles can seem like a daunting task. Although they seem simple, it doesn’t mean they are easy. After all, we are sinful creatures in a broken and fallen world. And yet, God hasn’t asked us to accomplish these things on our own. He has given us help. With that in mind, let’s read and pray through the below Scripture:

When we trusted in Jesus for the first time, the Holy Spirit (God Himself) came to take residence in our lives. Elsewhere, the Holy Spirit is called the Helper (see John 14-16 for further study). In other words, we can’t do this Christian walk on our own and need God Himself to help us each step of the way. Jesus modeled this as well, as we constantly see the language of Him being “led by the Spirit” throughout the Gospels (particularly in the Gospel of Luke). We also see that even the good works we do are not of our own but are called the “fruit of the Spirit” (see Galatians 5 for further study). 

Therefore, as we go “all in” in our serving, in our giving, and in our outreach, we need the Lord’s ongoing help and guidance. We can not do this on our own. And as we seek to do the Father’s will for our lives, we trust in Jesus’ grace each day. And by His grace, we are led by the Holy Spirit to walk in newness of life every step of the way.

Cuando confiamos en Jesús por primera vez, el Espíritu Santo (Dios mismo) vino a morar en nuestras vidas. En otros lugares, al Espíritu Santo se le llama el Ayudador (ver Juan 14-16 para más estudio). En otras palabras, no podemos hacer este caminar cristiano por nuestra cuenta y necesitamos que Dios mismo nos ayude en cada paso del camino. Jesús también modeló esto, ya que constantemente vemos el lenguaje de Él siendo "guiado por el Espíritu" a lo largo de los Evangelios (particularmente en el Evangelio de Lucas). También vemos que aun las buenas obras que hacemos no son de nuestra propiedad, sino que se llaman el “fruto del Espíritu” (ver Gálatas 5 para un estudio más profundo).

Por lo tanto, a medida que hacemos todo lo posible en nuestro servicio, en nuestras ofrendas y en nuestro alcance, necesitamos la ayuda y la guía constante del Señor. No podemos hacer esto por nuestra cuenta. Y mientras buscamos hacer la voluntad del Padre para nuestras vidas, confiamos en la gracia de Jesús cada día. Y por Su gracia, somos guiados por el Espíritu Santo a caminar en novedad de vida en cada paso del camino.