Episode Transcript
HEAR
Acts 1:8 (NIV)
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
CONSIDER
Today our Holy Spirit story comes from Ethan Goodnight! Ethan recounts a beautiful time of surrender and trust in his walk with the Lord. In it you'll see the fruit of laying down your plans for God's greater plans.
Below, you will read the story in his words, and, if you listen, you will hear it in his own voice.
“Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” This invitation in 1 Samuel 3 was the theme for a pastor’s conference I recently spoke at with four other church leaders, including my parents. It was a holy, glorious, anointed time. Heading into the last day, I was delivering the closing message.
The night before, however, I heard from the Lord: No. No, you won’t share a message.
Now, I’ve received this message quite a few times recently when God redirects me, so I cheerfully said: “Okay God, what should I say!”
Silence.
This was new. I’ve had God upend entire sermons twenty-four hours before, but He had always followed up with the new message! After an evening and morning of prayer, solitude, and conversation with the other leaders, all I knew is that God wanted me to lead a time of prayer instead. But prayer for what! By whom! Details, God! Heading from our hotel to the conference center, I was worshipping, thinking, praying, and asking for God’s peace about what God would do, even though the details weren’t coming.
God livestreamed (re: Ivan Filby’s wonderful book!) an image of a pastor with back pain in his lower, right back. I made a note to seek him out and pray. Right before the session, I was sitting on the floor during break, listening to God and trying to discern what targeted prayers the pastors needed. “Excuse me, sir!” I opened my eyes to see Grace, the worship leader, smiling at me. “Do you want to come sing with us?” My immediate reaction was a flash of irritation—can’t you see I’m praying?
I have notes in front of me writing down insight from the Lord, I have to lead this session in twenty minutes, and I don’t know what I’m doing yet! But that flash went out immediately, and I realized that few things could be more appropriate in that moment than worship. We started singing and playing together, all sorts of different songs. And we ended on “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” I still wasn’t sure what I was going to be leading, but that time of worship was so joyful and holy.
When the final session started with worship, the Spirit overwhelmed me with the second verse of that hymn that we had just sung: “O what peace we often forfeit; oh what needless grief we bear; all because we do not carry; everything to God in prayer.”
As I looked at my notes, the Spirit led me to four prayers: over our minds, hearts, bodies, and the body of Christ. I’d written many more topics down for consideration, but they all blew away like chaff, leaving these four behind. I asked the Lord what verses should anchor these prayers, and he revealed Romans 12:2 (mind), Hebrews 12:1–3 (heart), Philippians 4:6–7 (mind and heart), Romans 12:1 and James 5:13–16 (body), and John 15:5–8 (body of Christ rooted in the vine). God’s message to His church was that in each of these areas, He did not want us to forfeit any peace or bear any needless grief! Rather, we had to bring each thing to God in prayer. I was overwhelmed and just started weeping during worship, as I felt God’s guidance so clearly and forcefully.
When worship ended, I walked on stage and shared all this with the pastors. We then circled up in small groups and spent the next hour in prayer over these four things. I shared my livestream image, a pastor came up, and me and another leader anointed him with oil, prayed multiple times, and God healed his back. Many other people prayed and received spiritual and physical healing. You could almost taste the presence of the spirit.
When we came to the final prayer point, the body of Christ, the Spirit descended (or maybe we ascended!). It was glorious to see the Spirit move through 200+ people in unique ways—some couldn’t stop laughing, or crying, or dancing, or shouting prayers. And we, as different branches, remained in the Vine together.
As the time wrapped up, I started to feel pressure—I have to say the perfect thing to close! I can’t miss this opportunity! In the midst of that, I felt the simple tug of the Spirit on my heart and I just smiled and said “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening!” With that heart posture, I turned to walk up and opened my eyes and saw my father standing there. The message was crystal clear from the Spirit: Ethan, you do not get the last word today. I took off the mic and handed it to my father. He closed us in a beautiful prayer centered on the Lord. I went and sat at the back of the room, just relishing the presence of the Lord, sitting in awe at how God could speak through Scripture, guidance from friends, solitude, worship, study, all to lead us into this beautiful time of communal surrender and encouragement.
And my sincere hope is that all left that space bearing no needless grief but instead overflowing with the peace of God!
PRAY
Father in heaven, what a gift it is to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. I commit my plans to You and acknowledge that Your ways are higher. Show me how I need to adjust my plans and my life so that I can be aligned with what You are doing. Use me, Lord and open my eyes today. I want to see lives changed by Your presence. Praying this in Jesus's name, amen.
