“After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.” Acts 4:31, NLT
I was in awe as I stepped back in time for a moment in the traditional site of the upper room in Jerusalem. I was joined by some 30 plus pastors and their spouses, as we were touring the promised lands. We read the above text and one of our guides along with a professor from the Seminary spoke of the historical evidence of this special place. Then we went around the room and prayed together followed by a song.
I felt the Holy Spirit, regardless if this was the actual site or not. The entire trip blessed me with new words, experiences, and sermons to come. As I left the upper room in Jerusalem that day, I know I was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Just now as I was looking back at this experience, several times since I have asked the Lord to fill me with the Holy Spirit, and he has given me what I asked for. You don’t need to travel to Jerusalem and enter the upper room to be filled with the Holy Spirit. You can be filled right now just by asking guaranteed. But don’t take my word for it. Here Jesus’ words found in Luke 11:9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
Jesus goes on to include the verb “ask” a total of six times, “seek” and “knock” both twice. This passage is a continuation of His lesson on prayer. Jesus is telling us to continually ask persistently for the Holy Spirit. In verse 13 Jesus finishes the lesson by telling us that if we give good gifts to our children and us being evil-minded individuals, then “How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him”
Jesus says to ask, seek, and knock; and your Heavenly Father will fill you with the Holy Spirit.