As a doctor and historian who traveled with Paul, perhaps Luke is the one most capable of understanding the physical healing ministry of Jesus. In the book by his name and in Acts, he reported it's authenticity from the viewpoint of one acquainted with both the affliction and the healer.

Luke reports that Jesus and many of his followers had just come from an all night prayer session in the hills. It was there that the Lord selected twelve of them to be his apostles. The Luke said, they went down and stood on a level place where they were shoulder to shoulder with sick and possessed people needing more than sympathy. They needed help.

Being fairly right-brain enabled, I see the symbolism of their spiritual retreat up in the hills where they eventually had to come down to earth. When they did, they were naturally approached by people in desperate need of what they found up there, namely God's power. To some it was healing and to others it was simply being assured by someone with authority that God had not forgotten them in their distress.

I often wonder when the apostles actually found the power that the people felt from simply being around Jesus. Scripture reveals that after the Lord's ascension to heaven three years later, they were told to wait for the power to come upon them in the form of the Holy Spirit who would guide them as to how to administer it. We see the disciples with power after that, a fact that sheds a little light on my question. It is for a fact, the Holy Spirit at work within us that gives us power.

In 1 Samuel 11:6 we learn that God's Spirit came on Saul with power which in turn led him to act above his normal abilities. It didn't take long for Saul to misuse God's power. A few chapters later, (16:13) we find the same Spirit of power coming on David and leaving Saul.

By the "coming and going" account of the Holy Spirit in Saul and David, some will conclude that God's power comes and goes randomly. However, they fail to understand that God's Spirit lives within every person who is saved and he will never leave us. In addition, He will never take his power from us unless we've allowed sin to once again take root within our heart and push the Spirit aside.

So one question remains for us to answer this morning: Is the power of the Holy Spirit coming from us to the point others are aware of it? And, are we using God's power vested in us to do His work or our own? If you can't or won't answer these questions, maybe this question is a better one: Have you ever known God's power at all? If not, do you think the Holy Spirit would ever inhabit someone and then fail to give them power?

1. Pray Through the Word - 365 devotionals on the subject of prayer by James R. Green (1Sa 11; Lu 6:17-36)
2. Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society

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