God's Holy Fire from Heartlight

Boldness!

Sat, 16 May 2026 02:00:00 -0500

After [the disciples'] prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.

—Acts 4:31 NLT

Key Thought

I am touched by several things in the prayer of these early followers of Jesus when they were threatened (Acts 4:24-30 NIV). First, they acknowledge the sovereignty and power of God. Second, they recognize that the situation they face is the fulfillment of prophecy - they are where they are supposed to be, doing what they are supposed to do, even though times are tough. Third, they ask God to "consider" the threats they face (Acts 4:29 NIV). However, they do not ask him to remove the threats, but rather they ask for him to embolden them to speak the message of Jesus and show his power in their ministry! No wonder the place shook and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit to speak with boldness. So let's follow their example and recognize God's greatness, realize we are where we are for such a time as this, and ask God to embolden and empower us to share Jesus and demonstrate his power in our lives and ministries.

Today's Prayer

O Sovereign God, our Abba Father, you know our times and the challenges we face far better than we do. But we, your children all around the world, join our hearts, and we praise you for your gracious use of your power and might. We know you have great work for us to do and have given us great tools to do it, even though we live in a time of growing opposition to our faith. So we ask that you embolden us and demonstrate your power so that Jesus is proclaimed with power and grace. In Jesus' name, and in anticipation of the Spirit's empowering presence, we pray. Amen.

Ⓒ 1996-2026 Heartlight, Inc. This material may not be reproduced in part or whole for commercial use without written consent. The Thoughts and Prayer for God's Holy Fire are written by Phil Ware. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked MESSAGE are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Putting It in Context

Fri, 15 May 2026 02:00:00 -0500

[Disciples praying to the LORD after Peter and John were released from jail:] "You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: 'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?'"

—Acts 4:25 NIV

Key Thought

The disciples proclaimed that what was happening in their day was what God had spoken through his servant David by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The violence and opposition that the early followers of Jesus were facing were not a surprise. They were expected. They were anticipated. They were prophesied years earlier by King David in Psalm 2. What's more, this message of the Holy Spirit was God's reminder that the opposition they faced would fail! Jesus, God's anointed, would lead God's people to triumph. The efforts of the nations and the rulers to stop the cause of Christ were - and still are - futile. And God had spoken this truth a thousand years earlier, through his servant David by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit - the same Holy Spirit who lived within each of those who were following Jesus and who also lives within each of us who follow him!

Today's Prayer

El Shaddai, God Most High, Almighty God, you speak, and our world is changed. So today, I pray that you will move with power and make the words of your servant David true in our day. Frustrate the power of the wicked. Defeat the efforts of those who would silence, harass, limit, marginalize, persecute, and kill the followers of Jesus. Frustrate the desires of the wicked and bring righteousness to life in our time and our world, through your people. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

Spirit-Inspired Words

Thu, 14 May 2026 02:00:00 -0500

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people!"

—Acts 4:8 NIV

Key Thought

Not only did Jesus pour out the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:32-33), but the Spirit continued to inspire Peter and others to speak the message of God's grace and truth to the people. We must not underestimate the incredible truth that this simple verse proclaims. Just as God spoke through the prophets in ages gone by, he spoke through Peter and the other apostles to reveal his will, to form his people, and generally to support the apostles' mission. Peter's words are God's words because of the Holy Spirit who inspired them and propelled them into people's hearts - and continues to do so - to convict them of sin and to call them to God's grace!

Today's Prayer

Dear Father, I confess that I do not understand the intricacies of inspiration. But I also confess that I believe that you spoke your truth through human servants because of the work of the Holy Spirit in them. So I ask that you open my heart to know your truth through the Holy Spirit dwelling within me and empower me to live the truth your servants have proclaimed. In Jesus' name. Amen.

The Gift

Wed, 13 May 2026 02:00:00 -0500

And Peter said to [the crowd on Pentecost], "Repent and be baptized every 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. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."

—Acts 2:38-39 ESV

Key Thought

A promised gift of the new movement of God prophesied in Scripture is the Holy Spirit. We often focus on the forgiveness of our sins, and clearly, this forgiveness is a great blessing of grace won by the sacrifice of Jesus. This blessing is for all who confess Jesus as LORD and Christ, trust his sacrifice to cleanse them from their sins, and are baptized into his name. But there is another gift that is just as precious: God's holy presence placed within each of these cleansed, redeemed, and newly adopted children of God. This presence, this gift, is the promised Holy Spirit. We must never, ever, underestimate this gift that Jesus has poured out on us and placed within us (Titus 3:3-5).

Today's Prayer

O Father, I recognize the very many great gifts that you have poured into my life. Today, however, I am overwhelmed by your grace and mercy. You sent and sacrificed Jesus for my sin. You raised Jesus up and conquered the power of death. And now, Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to cleanse me, indwell me, empower me, transform me, and ultimately bring me to you. Thank you! In Jesus' name. Amen.

I Will Pour Out My Spirit

Tue, 12 May 2026 02:00:00 -0500

[Peter, on Pentecost, quoting God's promise from Joel 2:] "In [the last] days, I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants — men and women alike — and they will prophesy."

—Acts 2:18 NLT

Key Thought

Luke emphasizes in Acts that the coming of the Holy Spirit wasn't to just a select few leaders for a limited time, as was usually the case in the Old Testament. (Also see yesterday's Thought and Acts 2:17.) After the Holy Spirit came and began the "last days" era of God's work, the Spirit now comes to all disciples - young and old, men and women, slave and free, regardless of nationality or race (Galatians 3:26-29; Galatians 4:1-7) and continues with them. All of God's servants have his powerful presence through the Holy Spirit living in them and working through them to reveal the message of God and accomplish his work!

Today's Prayer

Father in heaven, I know you are also the Father within me through the Holy Spirit. Use me to reveal your will and do your work in the present time, with the people you have placed near me, to bring you glory. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

The Last Days Are Now

Mon, 11 May 2026 02:00:00 -0500

[Peter, on Pentecost, quoting from Joel 2:] "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams."

—Acts 2:17 NIV

Key Thought

So much handwringing goes on to determine when the "last days" will occur. However, the prophecy of Joel 2 begins to be fulfilled in Acts 2. Therefore, the events happening then are the beginning of the "last days"! Since the coming of the Holy Spirit that first Pentecost after Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, we have been in the last days. Jesus' coming again is assured. He stands at the edge of history. Since Jesus' incarnation, we have stood at the "culmination of the ages" (Hebrews 9:26) waiting for God's final victory when he sends Jesus to return for us (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). And the key to these last days? The Holy Spirit - God's presence within us, God's presence for us, and God's assurance to us that we are part of his great victory (Ephesians 1:13-14). The Holy Spirit comes to all who belong to Jesus. No wonder old and young, men and women, have words from God to share and dreams from heaven to inspire!

Today's Prayer

Almighty God, thank you for the coming of your Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Thank you for sending your Spirit to me when I came to Christ. Thank you for your abiding presence within me and your assurance for me through your indwelling Spirit. I await, with the help of the Holy Spirit, the great victory that I know is coming in Christ. Thank you for this assured hope! In Jesus' name, I praise you! Amen.

Heaven’s Wildfire

Sun, 10 May 2026 02:00:00 -0500

When the Feast of Pentecost came, [the apostles] were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force — no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them.

—Acts 2:1-4 MSG

Key Thought

The image of "tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them" (using the language of another translation) is a powerful one. This wildfire of God's grace signals the dawning of a new era in God's work of salvation. The message of Jesus is boldly proclaimed. Hearts are touched and convicted. Faith in Jesus is spread. People are baptized. The Spirit is given as God's gift. Sins are gone. A new movement that will sweep through the mighty Roman Empire is begun and is still with us today. The Holy Spirit is the wind that causes heaven's wildfire to spread through human hearts and change the future of people, family, friends, cultures, and nations. So let's pray for this wildfire to sweep through our lands, our churches, our friends, and our own hearts!

Today's Prayer

O Father in heaven, I know that the Holy Spirit lives in me and in the hearts of your people. But we yearn for a fresh movement of your Spirit to bring renewal, to empower evangelism, and to bring conviction of sin and a realization of grace, peace, and joy. I ask that your Holy Spirit will break out like wildfire among us and propel us to be the people our world needs us to be! In Jesus' name, we ask for this grace. Amen.