Acts 11:17
Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
There was a belief among the apostles and the early church that the Holy Ghost was only for the Jews. However, God had to intervene to show through Peter’s ministry that the gift of the Holy Ghost was also for the Gentile. Peter told them how God told him to go with Cornelius, a Gentile, to give him the Gospel. The Scriptures say after Cornelius got saved, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. It was at this moment that the Christians in this early church realized that the power of the Holy Ghost was for anyone who trusted Christ as their Saviour.
Peter said, God gave them the like gift as he did unto us. In other words, the same Holy Ghost power that the apostles had is available for any believer. We often read through the New Testament and see God’s power working through the apostles, and we can wonder if that same power is for us today. We can read about men from the past that had God’s power fall on them, and it is easy to reason if God can do the same thing for us. The Scriptures answer is that God’s power is for anyone who accepts Christ as their Saviour and is willing to do what it takes to get that power.
It was said about D. L. Moody that he worked very hard in the flesh to build the church in Chicago. However, two ladies came to Moody and told him that they were praying for him. He told them not to pray for him, but to pray for souls to be saved. However, a very intense hunger and desire arose in Moody that he cried like he never did before and lost a desire to live if he could not have the power of the Holy Ghost on his life and ministry. As he walked down the street on a busy Chicago day, he said the power of God fell on him so mightily that he ran to the house of a friend to ask for a room to be alone, and there in that room, he said he was filled with the Holy Ghost. From that point forward, Moody’s ministry was never the same.
The great Welsh evangelist, Christmas Evans, tells how his heart had grown cold and that he needed something to change in his life. He said that he was weary of his cold heart in the pulpit, prayer, and in private study. He said that he began to pray for God to remove the coldness from his heart, and for several hours he begged God to do something. He said that his heart began to soften, and the power of God began to fall on him in waves until the coldness was gone and the power of God rested mightily upon him. The rest of his ministry was different as the great Welsh revivals occurred through his ministry because of God’s power.
We could talk about God’s power falling on the early church after hours of prayer. We could talk about God’s power falling on people like Jack Hyles, Charles H. Spurgeon, and Charles G. Finney, and in each of these instances their stories of God’s power falling on them is amazing. However, that same power that these have seen in the past is still available today. The Holy Spirit’s power that rested mightily upon great men of God from the past is still available for you if you will pay the price in prayer and yieldedness as they did.
Do you want the Holy Spirit's power on your life? Every time we read about the Holy Spirit’s power falling on someone, it never happens without much prayer. God’s power is for you today if you will ask for it until you get it.