Holy Spirit · 10 days
Filled with the Spirit
Knowing and seeking the Holy Spirit, day after day.
Who it’s for
From Pentecost to the fruit of the Spirit: ten days to seek God’s presence and watch the character of Christ grow.
- Grow in faith — Prayer, the Word and consecration, one day at a time.
What you’ll grow in
How the journey is organized
Week 1 · The Spirit who comes
The outpouring at Pentecost, the promised Counselor, and the first tastes of the fruit.
- Day 1The Spirit poured outActs 2:4
- Day 2Love: poured into our heartsRomans 5:5Available in the app
- Day 3Joy: the gladness that singsEphesians 5:18Available in the app
- Day 4Peace: the Counselor who staysJohn 14:16Available in the app
- Day 5Patience: the kind that lasts1 Thessalonians 5:14Available in the app
Week 2 · The fruit that ripens
Kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control: the character of Christ in us.
- Day 6Kindness: goodness toward the undeservingLuke 6:35Available in the app
- Day 7Goodness: the good that is doneLuke 10:37Available in the app
- Day 8Faithfulness: new every morningLamentations 3:23Available in the app
- Day 9Gentleness: strength under controlMatthew 5:5Available in the app
- Day 10Self-control: walking by the SpiritGalatians 5:25Available in the app
Day 1 · The Spirit poured out
Today’s reading: Acts 2:1-21
1Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and one sat on each of them. 4They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak. 5Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky. 6When this sound was heard, the multitude came together and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language. 7They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Behold, aren’t all these who speak Galileans? 8How do we hear, everyone in our own native language? 9Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, 10Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11Cretans and Arabians—we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!” 12They were all amazed and were perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13Others, mocking, said, “They are filled with new wine.” 14But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and spoke out to them, “You men of Judea and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words. 15For these aren’t drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day. 16But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel: 17‘It will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams. 18Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days, I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy. 19I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath: blood, and fire, and billows of smoke. 20The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. 21It will be that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Acts 2:1-21 · World English Bible
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak.
Context
Pentecost was a Jewish feast celebrated fifty days after Passover, in thanksgiving for the harvest. Jerusalem was full of pilgrims from many regions, each with their own language. Before ascending to heaven, Jesus had told his disciples to wait in the city until they received the power of the Holy Spirit. About a hundred and twenty people were gathered, praying, when the Spirit came. Peter explains what happened through the prophecy of Joel.
The disciples had reasons to feel unsure. Jesus had risen, but he had returned to the Father. They were few, ordinary, without structure or political power. Jesus’ instruction was strange: wait. Don’t go out preaching yet. Stay in Jerusalem until you are clothed with power. And they waited, praying together, in one place.
Then, on the day of Pentecost, there came from heaven a sound like a mighty wind, tongues like fire appeared, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Luke records that they began to speak in other languages, and pilgrims from many nations heard the mighty works of God in their own tongue. That is how the church was born: not from a human strategy, but from an outpouring of God.
Notice one word: all. Not only the apostles, not only the most experienced. All of them were filled. And Peter, quoting Joel, insists on it: I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, sons and daughters, young and old, servants and handmaidens. The Holy Spirit is not the privilege of a spiritual elite. He is the promise for all who believe.
Christians from different traditions understand in different ways how this experience continues today. Many Pentecostal churches speak of baptism in the Holy Spirit, with speaking in tongues as a sign. Others emphasize that every Christian receives the Spirit upon believing and needs to be filled with him continually. On this journey, we won’t turn this into a dispute. We will look at what all of them recognize: the Spirit has been poured out and wants to fill the whole life of those who believe.
It is also worth noticing what came after the outpouring. Peter, the same man who had denied Jesus, stood up and spoke with courage. The Spirit didn’t just give an intense experience that day. He turned ordinary people into witnesses. Over the coming days, we will see how this transformation shows up in character: in love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, and self-control.
Today, begin where the disciples began: asking and waiting. Jesus said the Father gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. You don’t need beautiful words. You need thirst. On another occasion Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink!” Start there.
To reflect onHave you been seeking the Holy Spirit as a present Person or as a distant idea?
To live it today
- Set aside five quiet minutes today to ask the Father to fill you with the Holy Spirit, using the words of Luke 11:13 or your own.
More questions
- What in you most needs to be transformed by the Spirit: fear, coldness, weariness, or something else?
- Whom can you pray for today, that they too may experience the presence of the Holy Spirit?
Prayer
Praise
Father, you kept your promise and poured out your Spirit on all flesh. I praise you because that promise is for me too.
Surrender
I give you my whole life: my fears, my coldness, the areas where I still want to be in control.
Petition
Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Give me courage to be your witness and a heart sensitive to your voice.
To memorize
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.
Read also: Joel 2:28-29 · John 7:37-39 · Luke 11:13
Continue in the app: days 2 to 10
Each day brings a reading, a devotional, a guided prayer, a journal question and a verse to memorize. Pick up where you left off.
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For your everyday
Scripture on this page: World English Bible (public domain). How we write the journeys