You Need This Power

I love reading in the Bible about Peter. He was so human, so much like us. Although Peter made a lot of mistakes along the way, his willingness to step out and take risks enabled God to use him in a very powerful way.

The lowest point in Peter’s life had to be when Jesus was taken into custody by the authorities, shortly before Jesus was crucified. Although Peter had previously told Jesus he was willing to die for Him, Peter denied three times that he even knew Jesus (John 13:37; 18:15-17, 25-27). The shame that Peter experienced at that time had to be indescribable.

Yet just a few weeks after this event, Peter went into the streets of Jerusalem and boldly preached about Jesus to the multitudes (Acts 2:14-39). After Peter preached, about 3,000 of the people who heard him received Jesus and were saved (Acts 2:41). Wow! What happened to Peter between “I don’t even know Him” and him preaching confidently to a city full of people? I believe the answer is found in Acts 2:4, when Peter and many others with him were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues.

The Bible tells us in Jude 20, “You, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.”  1 Corinthians 14:4 says, “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself…” There’s a strength from God’s Spirit that rises up within us when we pray in tongues, aka praying in the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in Acts 1:8, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me…” This strength from God is something the disciples needed in the Bible, and it’s something we need just as much today if we want to live the life God has for us to live. Let’s be all we can be when it comes to living for God!