Do you lack the strength you need to follow Jesus in your everyday life? Then do as the disciples did, and pray to receive the Holy Spirit!
It must have been difficult for the disciples to be left to themselves after Jesus was taken up to heaven—in whom they had so much confidence, He who always had found solutions in difficult situations, in whose company they always had felt safe and secure. How could they continue that which He had entrusted to them? He had asked them to follow Him. How was that possible, now that He wasn't there anymore?
The disciples received the Holy Spirit
Not long after Jesus’ ascension, it is written of the disciples that they “all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication”. (Acts 1:14). They could sense their great emptiness—the vacuum that had been left behind, and sought God in their great need. He saw their longing, and at Pentecost He sent the Holy Spirit to them. As a result, Jesus’ words in Acts 1:8 were fulfilled: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me…” This power did such a work in Peter that he could stand in front of a crowd of people and proclaim the glad tidings of Jesus. Before, he had been such a coward that he had denied even knowing Jesus.
The Holy Spirit as Helper
Jesus knew that we would need the power of the Holy Spirit and His guidance to carry on the work He left us. We see that even when we want to do good, we soon reach our limits. Instead of patience, love, and all the other virtues, anger, strife, and evil appear. These are situations in which we need the strength of the Spirit to accept Jesus’ invitation: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me”. Matt.16:24.
Do you lack the strength to follow Jesus in your daily life? Then pray for it, just as the disciples did! “Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? …how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?” Matt. 7:9-11.