In Acts 10 we read about a remarkable sequence of events. Cornelius, a Gentile, has a vision of an angel who gives him specific instructions about calling Simon Peter to come to him. Peter (before he hears about this) has an experience where he falls into a trance, and has a symbolic vision about eating unclean animals. While he is pondering this the Holy Spirit speaks to him directly and instructs him to go with those Cornelius has sent. Peter obeys this instruction in spite of it being against the Jewish law as he understood it to associate with Gentiles, realising that God is calling him to share the gospel with these people. As he is sharing the gospel, his hearers are filled with the Holy Spirit, shown by them speaking in tongues and praising God, and Peter takes this as evidence that they can be baptised as believers.

This is a major development in the life of the early church. It is followed in Acts 11 by Peter recounting the story to the apostles and believers in Jerusalem, who are satisfied with his explanation and justification.

It is entirely consistent with the character and nature of God to lead his people through supernatural experiences. This example is striking, but it is not an oddity in the biblical narrative. God is a supernatural God, and He is not shy of interacting with His world in these kinds of ways, as we see through the whole of the Old and New Testaments.

And God chose to lead Peter in this way even though He could have done so via the means of Bible study and reflection. As the rest of the New Testament discussion reflects, the Old Testament Scriptures did point towards the way of the Lord being opened to Gentiles. Jesus himself had predicted this on a number of occasions; notably instructing his disciples in the great commission in Matthew 28 to do precisely what Peter ended up doing here.

Later in this book I will argue why I don’t believe that such supernatural experiences have ceased, and that we should expect the Holy Spirit to work in us in powerful ways. But for now I would like you to reflect on God’s choice to work in this way with Peter in this particular chapter. Some questions for reflection, and a prayer to pray:

• How do you think it felt for Peter to experience God directing him via a trance, a vision, and speaking directly to Him by the Holy Spirit?
• Why might God have chosen to direct Peter in this way, rather than through Scripture alone?

“Lord, help me to be open to whichever ways you want to work in me through your Holy Spirit, in line with your Word”.

A Call to Prayer

I met someone at our church who was relatively new, and asked them how they were finding the church. They were positive, and said that it had been good to meet some of the elders and ask them the questions they had. I was immediately curious - what were the questions? They responded “I asked whether the elders pray about the decisions they are making”. I immediately concluded that this was a believer with some wisdom and maturity! People evaluate a church based on various factors - the particular doctrines taught, the style of worship service, the leadership approach, the broader group or denomination it is part of, the personality of the leaders and members they encounter… and these are all valid. But prayer is vital and often neglected.

It’s very easy as Christians - perhaps particularly when we’ve had some years of experience - to assume that we are praying about the things that really matter. But there’s a big difference between lip service to prayer and really engaging with God on the important matters. And this engagement is meant to be one of dependence on God, not being self-sufficient - see how Jesus evaluated the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14.

I would like to encourage you as you consider the subject matter of this book, to make it a matter not only for thought and reflection, but also for prayer.

James said that at least sometimes the reason we do not have is because we do not ask God, and proceeds to teach us to humble ourselves and seek God (James 1:2, 7-10). And positively Jesus taught us that our Father in heaven will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him (Luke 11:13). In fact, he teaches that the Spirit was to be given to us as a result of his own prayer to the Father (John 14:16). Paul wrote about persistent prayer for God the Father to give the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to believers (Ephesians 1:17).

It is really important that our doctrine of the Spirit is well-founded on Scripture and not merely based on our own experience. But part of what the Scripture teaches us is that there is a connection between prayer and receiving the Spirit. If we study what it teaches but don’t pray and ask God for the Holy Spirit, then we are not acting in line with that Scriptural teaching.

There’s a little bit of a chicken and an egg scenario here - as we understand what the Scripture teaches about the Spirit, that can helpfully motivate us to pray for what we have learned. And as we pray, the Holy Spirit works in helping us to have open hearts to God’s will as revealed in his Word.

There are several passages that speak about the giving of the Spirit in terms that evoke a sense of abundance: God giving the Spirit “without limit” (John 3:34), pouring out the Spirit being compared to water on the thirsty and floods on dry ground (Isaiah 44:3) or streams flowing within us (John 7:38), and us drinking of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). This is metaphorical language and we will look into how to interpret it later. But it is clearly biblical to speak about hunger or thirst for righteousness, and for the work of the Spirit in our lives. We can grow in that hunger through seeking God in prayer.

Prayer

This is a simple prayer of invitation:

“Lord, I know that I have seen a certain amount of the work of your Spirit in my life, and I am grateful for that. But I also know that you are supernatural, and beyond my comprehension - and I am hungry to know more of what you have for me. Please speak to me through your Word and open my heart in prayer so that I may receive everything you have for me in this season. In Jesus’ name, Amen”.

[^1]: James 1:2, 7-10