Do not quench the Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:19 NKJV)
I step back as my husband throws some lighter fluid on the charcoal. “Now that’s a fire,” he declares with enthusiasm as he prepares to grill some burgers.
The Holy Spirit is symbolized by fire throughout Scripture. Sometimes He is represented by a dove, but fire magnifies His mighty power. Has our fire burnt out?
When you throw a bucket of water on a campfire, it quenches the flame. Prayerlessness, ingratitude, and lifeless worship snuffs out the Holy Spirit just as fast as if you drenched Him with water.
Paul didn’t jot down a list of random instructions as he closed his first epistle to the church at Thessalonica. Everything is connected from respect toward spiritual leaders to abstaining from every evil. Right in the middle of these staccato verses comes our focal verse. Do not quench the Holy Spirit.
When we look closely at the surrounding verses, we find the command to rejoice always (1 Thes. 5:16). When was the last time you worshiped the Lord? At church on Sunday? At home during your private time? On your way to work, or has it been a while? Worship is vital, even when we don’t feel like rejoicing. Especially when we don’t feel like getting our praise on. We must prioritize worship.
How’s your prayer life? Great? Not so good? We can all agree our prayer lives need improvement. We need to plunge deeper and stay longer.
Paul instructs us to pray without ceasing (1 Thes. 5:17).
Why do you think it is so hard to find the time to pray? The devil knows that the less time we spend down on our knees, the less powerful we become. That’s why he sends arrows from our forgotten to-do list into our minds when we pray. Oh, I forgot to pay that bill. I forgot to set out tonight’s dinner to thaw. It’s part of Satan’s scheme. He can’t steal our salvation, but he can make us weak.
Then Paul tells us to give thanks in everything (1 Thes. 5:18).
By the way, have you given thanks today? Is it any wonder that we are such an ungrateful nation? We are so blessed that we have taken so many things for granted. We forget to give thanks until November rolls around.
Paul’s warnings make us pay attention to areas of our spiritual lives that might need some attention. Maybe a lot of attention.
If we want to experience the power and fervency of the Holy Spirit, we can’t let His fire go out. We can’t allow it to burn down to a few embers. We must stir up the flames.
Just one more thing. Don’t use eloquent emotional frenzies to stir up a manmade flame. We want the real deal. Manmade worship is powerless. We want the on-fire power of a supernatural fire raining down from heaven. Just like the flames that fell upon Elijah’s altar with water-soaked wood.
This makes me want to reevaluate my priorities. In this world, we need an on-fire Holy Spirit to survive. Will you join me?
Holy Spirit, You are our Helper. We need You to help us pray, rejoice and be thankful. Help us daily make time for these necessities. Protect the time we set aside for You. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
DIG DEEPER
HIKING THE TRAIL
Schedule time for prayer, worship, and thanksgiving. Then guard it like you guard your work schedule.
RELATED RESOURCE
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Originally posted on April 23, 2021 @ 3:00 am