Murray Meditations: The All Encompassing Gift

Luke 11:13
If you then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.

There is a stretch of the Oregon coast that I have come to know and love very well. On this particular drive, one can catch a glimpse of beauty at every turn. My daughter, Michaela, and I wandered this twenty-five mile route almost every day that we stayed in Florence. 


Part of the allure is the ever present possibility that one may see a whale. Every scenic pull out could be the stage of a grand drama, mama and baby on their migration route to Alaska! It has been said that, during a typical whale watch week, as many as 1,000 plus sightings could occur.  We were there at precisely the prime viewing week and anticipation of catching a glimpse was high.
 
Even deeper than my longing to catch a glimpse of a grey whale was my longing to catch a glimpse of the Holy Spirit. While my intellect knows that I have the fullness of the Spirit living within me and have had since I was a small child, my heart longs for a fuller understanding of just exactly what this filling means for everyday practical living. How does God speak to me? What gift does He plan to bestow and use for His glory? Do I live in the fullness of His power?

Somehow, I think not. I know there is more. In Andrew Murray's book, The School of Prayer, he teaches us that the first, highest, and all encompassing gift that Jesus gives is His Spirit. 

Galatians 4:6
And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba, Father!"



Surely if there is one prayer that should draw us to the Father's throne and keep us there, it is this: for the Holy Spirit, whom we as children have received, to stream into us and out from us in greater fullness. A. Murray

I am on a quest for a greater fullness of the Holy Spirit. Murray believed that one thing is needed to be complete and whole: to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Yes, please! I want some more. More of His grace, more of His fruit, more of His gifts, more of His power, more of His peace. You get the idea.  


Even though I am looking for a feeling or a tangible experience of God's filling, I know that this prayer, this longing is a spiritual act of faith. In faith, believing that He will do everything that He has promised abundantly and beyond all that I can imagine, I say with thanksgiving "You do fill me and You will fill me as I surrender to Your leading and cling to Your promises".


Let us continue steadfast in this faith. On the strength of God's word we know that we have what we ask. Let us, with thanksgiving that we have been heard, with thanksgiving for what we have received and taken and now hold as ours, continue steadfast in believing prayer that the blessing, which has already been given us, and which we hold in faith, may break through and fill our whole being. A. Murray

Oh, Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams.

 St. Augustine