Be Filled With the Holy Spirit

So, just what does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit?  I hear people pray, "Lord fill me with your spirit," but I kinda thought that a believer is already filled.  Consider this, maybe we are like a container of Gatorade on the sidelines of a football game.  You know, the one that gets dumped on the coach at the end of a big win.

You've all seen it.  What if we are like that?  The container is sitting on the sideline completely full.  But how much liquid comes out?  None, until someone dumps it out.  Now, if we are the container and the Holy Spirit is in us, we are filled with the Holy Spirit. I believe we can know this by what the Bible says in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."  A true Christian should certainly hunger and thirst for righteousness and so, if we are filled with the Holy Spirit, how much comes out?  None, until we release it.

Consider the ramifications of this.  If John 1 is correct, then the Holy Spirit IS God; the same God that spoke all of creation into existence from nothing!  If that is what we are filled with, that is a lot of power!  So, if you are having problems and you need some help, the implication is that the full power of God is within you just waiting to be released.  The question is, what are you doing to release his power?  Just like the container of Gatorade, are you going to just let it sit there or will you walk over and do something?  And when you do are you going to let it drip, drip, drip?  Or are you going to open the spout and let it run?  Or will you take the top off and pour the full power of God all over the situation you are struggling with?

I think it is like salvation.  Salvation is a free gift, but we must take an active part in receiving it.  If we expect the power of God to work in our life, we must take an active part in releasing his power by prayer, faith and active participation.  What do you think?

(Thanks to my friend Joe McKeever for the illustration).