A Pentecost Prayer

Holy Spirit, come.

On the day of Pentecost You arrived like weather — a rushing mighty wind filling the whole house, tongues of fire resting on ordinary heads. Fishermen who had hidden behind locked doors threw them open and preached to the very city that had crucified their Lord.

That is what You do with frightened people.

Lord, Your church today needs that same wind. We have grown comfortable behind our own locked doors — careful, quiet, explaining ourselves in whispers. Breathe on us again.

Give me boldness where I have been timid: to speak of You without apologizing, to love people the culture tells me to write off, to pray for big things as if You were actually listening — because You are.

And what You did with one hundred and twenty people in an upstairs room, do again in our time. Start anywhere. Start here. Start with me.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

When to Pray This

Pray this on Pentecost Sunday — fifty days after Easter — or any time your faith has gone quiet and careful. It is a good prayer to say before church, asking the Spirit to show up before you do.

A Verse to Hold On To

"And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting." — Acts 2:2 (KJV)