Experiencing God's Presence #270

Experiencing God's Presence #270

Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Acts 8:17

Several times in Acts, people received the Holy Spirit when someone already inhabited by Him laid hands on them. Timothy received a spiritual gift when the elders of a church laid hands on him (1 Timothy 4:14). Paul longed to visit the Roman church in order to impart a spiritual gift to its members and make them stronger (Romans 1:11). Apparently, a very spiritual experience can be transferred to others through a very physical Presence.

We might like to think of God’s Presence as a completely private experience, and sometimes it is. But it’s never exclusively so. God has made us to be interdependent in our relationship with Him so that much of our experience comes through others. He is not only to be known, He is to be shared.

This is hard to fathom in a culture of independence, but it’s solidly biblical. God inhabits His people and then spreads through them to others through prayer and physical Presence. In spite of all the flaws we notice in others, in spite of all the friction we experience in our relationships, those who are born of His Spirit are also bearers of His Presence. We receive and then impart what we have been given.

Receive the Spirit and His gifts from others, and impart them to others too. You are a conduit of power, a minister of the resurrection life. Freely you have received, freely give—not only by distant prayers but by physical impartation. Cultivate God’s Presence within you and take Him everywhere you go.

Lord, You are a Spirit who inhabits flesh—in Jesus and now in Your people. Help me open myself to receiving the gifts You have given others. Fill me with all Your fullness and let me share Your Presence with others, too. Inhabit my touch, my words, my prayers.