Half Hot and Half Cold
Jilly Lyon Taylor
"Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other." Galatians 5:16-17, NIV
During the recent cold weather some of us were meeting to pray in a room where the radiator was not working properly. The hot water was coming into the bottom of the radiator through a pipe on one side, and flowing out through a pipe on the other side. The lower half of the radiator was hot but the top half was not receiving any heat and was stone cold. As a result there was partial warmth coming into the room, but not nearly as much as there should have been.
During the prayer time I sensed God speaking to us about the radiator, equating its state of being half hot and half cold to our own lives. We can have times when we are on fire for God, full of the Holy Spirit, bringing God’s light and warmth to those around us. But we can also have times when we are lukewarm or even cold; when the power of the Holy Spirit is not evident in our lives and we are therefore not able to be used by God to affect those around us.
When a radiator is not working properly, it is usually because of a blockage of some kind – an air lock or an accumulation of sediment that prevents the flow of hot water to the whole radiator. What blockages might be hindering the full flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives? It could be wrong attitudes such as unforgiveness or resentment towards others; it could be resistance coming out of our own flesh or carnal nature (such as pride, independence, greed, and self-centredness); or it could be another specific sin that we are reluctant to acknowledge or lay down. Any of these things can be in conflict with the work of the Spirit and block His working in our lives.
Whatever the blockages might be, let’s confess them to God, repent and ask Him to cleanse us so that we can be fully on fire for Him, bringing His warmth to those around us.
Prayer: Lord, I’m sorry for the times when I’ve been lukewarm or even cold towards You. I confess to You now the things that have caused blockages to the working of the Holy Spirit in my life, and I repent before You. Please forgive me and cleanse me of everything that is hindering Your working in my life. Please fill me afresh with Your Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
During the recent cold weather some of us were meeting to pray in a room where the radiator was not working properly. The hot water was coming into the bottom of the radiator through a pipe on one side, and flowing out through a pipe on the other side. The lower half of the radiator was hot but the top half was not receiving any heat and was stone cold. As a result there was partial warmth coming into the room, but not nearly as much as there should have been.
During the prayer time I sensed God speaking to us about the radiator, equating its state of being half hot and half cold to our own lives. We can have times when we are on fire for God, full of the Holy Spirit, bringing God’s light and warmth to those around us. But we can also have times when we are lukewarm or even cold; when the power of the Holy Spirit is not evident in our lives and we are therefore not able to be used by God to affect those around us.
When a radiator is not working properly, it is usually because of a blockage of some kind – an air lock or an accumulation of sediment that prevents the flow of hot water to the whole radiator. What blockages might be hindering the full flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives? It could be wrong attitudes such as unforgiveness or resentment towards others; it could be resistance coming out of our own flesh or carnal nature (such as pride, independence, greed, and self-centredness); or it could be another specific sin that we are reluctant to acknowledge or lay down. Any of these things can be in conflict with the work of the Spirit and block His working in our lives.
Whatever the blockages might be, let’s confess them to God, repent and ask Him to cleanse us so that we can be fully on fire for Him, bringing His warmth to those around us.
Prayer: Lord, I’m sorry for the times when I’ve been lukewarm or even cold towards You. I confess to You now the things that have caused blockages to the working of the Holy Spirit in my life, and I repent before You. Please forgive me and cleanse me of everything that is hindering Your working in my life. Please fill me afresh with Your Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Daily Smile:
A man visiting a graveyard saw a tombstone that read: “Here lies John Smith, a lawyer and an honest man.”
“How about that!” he exclaimed. “They’ve got three people buried in one grave.”
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