Drink and Pray, Drink and Pray

I knew that would get your attention! It isn't what you initially thought, but I hope it remains as intriguing. Before I left Texas, a sweet friend gave me a book by John Piper entitled Taste and See. This book is broken into 140 "meditations" on different Scriptures or Biblical principles. I'm going to copy one of the entries verbatim, because it has spoken to me so wonderfully and hopefully it will you, too.

How to Be Filled With the Holy Spirit

How Do You Drink the Wine of God? 

A Meditation on Ephesians 5:18-21

Ephesians 5:18 says, "Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit." There are at least four effects of being filled with the Spirit. First, in verse 19 the effect is very musical: "...addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all of your heart." Clearly, joy in Christ is the mark of being filled with the Spirit. 

But not only joy. Also gratitude in verse 20: "...always and for everything giving thanks in he name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father. "Perpetual gratitude, gratitude for everything, comes from being filled with the Spirit --- which obviously aims at overcoming grumbling and pouting and self-pity and bitterness and scowling and murmuring and depression and worry and discouragement and gloominess and pessimism. 

But not only musical joy and universal gratitude --- also, loving submission to each other's needs: "Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ" (verse 21). Joy, gratitude, and humble love --- these are some of the marks of being filled with the Spirit. 

To this should also be added a fourth effect: boldness in witness. You see this most clearly from Acts 4:31: "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak the word of God with boldness." No one can fail to be bold and eager in witness when the Spirit is producing in him overflowing joy, perpetual gratitude, and humble love. Oh, how we need to be filled with the Spirit! Let's seek it! Pursue it! 

But the crucial question is, how? Start with the closest parallel: Don't be drunk with wine, be filled with the Spirit! (verse 18) How do you get drunk with wine? You drink it. Lots of it. so how then shall we get drunk (filled) with the Holy Spirit? Drink it! Lots of it. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:13, "We were all made to drink of one Spirit." Jesus said, "If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, 'Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.' Now this he said about the Spirit" (John 7:37-39)

How can you drink the Spirit? Paul said, "Those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit." (Romans 8:5) We drink the Spirit by setting our minds on the things of the Spirit. What does "setting the mind on" mean? Colossians 3:1-2 says, "Setting the mind on" means seeking, directing your attention toward, being very concerned about (Philippians 3:19). It means being devoted to and taken up with. So drinking the Spirit means seeking the things of the Spirit, directing your attention to the things of the Spirit, being devoted to the things of the Spirit.

What are the "things of the Spirit"? When Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:14, "The natural man does not welcome the things of the Spirit" he was referring to his own Spirit-inspired teachings (2:13)-- specifically his teaching about the thoughts and ways and plans of God (2:8-10). Therefore, "the things of the Spirit" are the teachings of the apostles about God. Jesus also said, "The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and life." (John 6:63). Therefore, the teachings of Jesus are also "the things of the Spirit". 

So drinking the Spirit means setting our minds on the things of the Spirit. And setting our minds on the things of the Spirit means directing our eager attention to the teachings of the apostles about God and to the words of Jesus. If we do this long enough, we will get drunk with the Spirit. In fact, we will develop a wonderful Spirit dependency. 

One more thing: The Holy Spirit is not like wine, because he is a person and is free to come and go anywhere he wills. (John 3:8). Therefore Luke 11:13 must be added. Jesus said to his disciples, "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" If we want to be filled with the Holy Spirit we must ask our heavenly Father for it. And that is just what Paul does for the Ephesians in Ephesians 3:19. He asks his Father in heaven (verse 19) that the believers "might be filled with all the fulness of God." Drink and pray. Drink and pray. Drink and pray. 

Christians, the sad fact that I see often, even in myself, is that we are not Spirit-led. If we were, our actions and speech would be a lot different. It breaks my heart to see and hear of the things that are being done and said in the name of Jesus and Christianity, but they are not led by Jesus at all--they are completely opposed to how we have been directed in the Scriptures to walk. If we are walking in the Spirit, self-righteousness and religion would not be flowing from us. It would be humble love. It would be rivers of life. It would be Jesus. Again, drink and pray. Drink and pray. Drink and pray.