I have not prayed for years in my passionate faith filled pentecostal prayer like this afternoon after chatting with and connecting my daughter with a sister church’s pastor in London. After that I sensed an anointing of God upon me, I prayed immediately praising God, akin to Elizabeth bursting out in praise & prayer to God, though in a smaller scale.

Luke 1:⁴¹ And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴² and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

That’s precious.  I also remember how Jesus was filled with the Spirit after being tempted by the devil in the wilderness for 40 days. In a smaller scale, I begin to understand or feel what the Bible means being filled with the Spirit.  

Luke 4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,² where for forty days he was tempted^[a] by the devil. 

Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit & spoke courageously and powerfully to a hostile crowd about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Acts 4:  8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people!  9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 

All these to show that there is ample supply of bible verses supporting the Spirit filled person after an encounter with God.

You need an encounter with God for being filled with the Spirit

Elizabeth didn’t just yell out “Blessed be the mother of my Lord” out of nowhere. She did it because she heard the voice of Mary calling her. Luke 1:⁴¹ and when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. SO much so that her baby in her womb leaped in her womb! That’s an encounter with God. (BTW, who says life starts at delivery only??)

We all need an encounter with God for the outburst of joy, faith, and confidence. Encountering with God produces a surge of faith, like Peter, stepping out in such strong faith and courage, preached to a hostile Jewish crowd, who just a few days earlier, crucified the Lord Jesus. Elizabeth’s spirit connected with God’s Spirit (Holy Spirit), when she heard the voice of Mary. We all need that special encounter with God, in small ways, in big ways. Normally encounter with God will be a big way.

I burst into praise to God after connecting my daughter with Hope church London’s pastor. I then prayed with great faith. With great liberation, I leapt into great prayer, which I haven’t seen for years in New York. Coming from a Pentecostal background into a Presbyterian and Reformed theology in seminary, I feel my prayers been enriched but subdued, but I wont call it suppressed. It’s subdued in terms of burst of energy and joy. This afternoon’s prayer is an outburst of celebration with faith and I felt connected with God in the Holy Spirit and uttered the prayer with faith that I haven’t seen for years. That’s the return to prayers with faith and energized by the Holy Spirit. I long for more of this kind of encounter, and one thing for sure, I am returning to more energized and Spirit filled faith empowered prayers. For sure.

Amen.