If I want to experience the power of the Holy Spirit in my life, there must be a definite and complete surrender of my will to the will of God. Simply put, I cannot do God’s will until I stop doing mine.
This idea runs contrary to the entirety of human existence and experience. We are accustomed to having our own dreams, desires, wishes, plans, etc. We know that the only way we can achieve them is through the power of our will. We determine what we want out of life, and we go get it! As great as this may seem to be, it flies in the face of Christianity. The Christian life “depends not on human will or exertion” (Romans 9:16.)
The Christian life is lived by an entirely different source of power, the Holy Spirit. I must surrender my will in order for His will to be done in and through me. This means I must voluntarily give up in favor of the Spirit. My wishes, desires, dreams, plans, and hopes must be laid aside for what God desires for me.
Jesus is the perfect example of this. Even though He was the perfect Son of God, He repeatedly taught that He did not come to do His own will. He did not live for what pleased Him. He chose in the Garden of Gethsemane to surrender His will to the will of God even though He knew it meant suffering and death.
We are taught to die to our will daily. This is something that we are to do in prayer. It is not our will that we pray for; it is God’s will. James tells us that so many of our prayers are not answered because we are praying for our desires, not what God wills.
This was the secret to the spiritual power of Jesus’ life. He not only humbled Himself, He surrendered His will to the Father. We are to do the same. There is no path to power apart from the surrender of our will.
Why would we not do this? God knows more than us. God’s ways are better than our own. God works all things together for our good. Why would we not trust that His plan for our lives is better than our own? It is time to surrender your will so that the Spirit might accomplish God’s will in you and through you. This is the next step in the path to spiritual power!
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