In order to experience the fire of the Holy Spirit, we need to covenant with God to:

1. stay in the room of expectation. God wants us to position ourselves for change, keeping expectation in our hearts. In Acts 1:4, the disciples were urged to wait for the promise of the Father, and this they did patiently. As William Carey reminds us, we should expect great things from God and attempt great things for Him. So often, we allow ourselves to become disillusioned and lack faith that God will actually move in answer to our prayers. We need to cultivate expectancy as we linger with God.

2. stay in the room of sacrificial prayer. In Acts1:14, we see how the disciples continued in prayer. The acronym PUSH stands for ‘Pray Until Something Happens’! We have to overcome our feelings (which often don’t want to pray – not surprising, since we have an enemy who fears the praying Christian!) and press on in sacrificial prayer. So often, the prayer meeting is the least attended meeting in a church’s life, but we need to continue praying. Do join us for the ‘Churches Together’ Day of Prayer on Friday 16th March (at Furlong Road Methodist Church, or simply pray at home with us!)

3. stay in the room of agreement. Unity is so important, as Acts 2:1 makes clear. The enemy loves to cause division in churches, often through criticism, negativity and discord, but unity brings anointing and blessing (see Ps 133:1-3). Acts 2:42 reminds us that we have to choose to be in unity (‘devoted themselves’ to fellowship). As we stand united in Christ, we pray the fire of the Holy Spirit will fall on us.