An attitude of immediacy in prayer brings God into the
moment, into your presence. You are being bold and expectant.
You have asked Him to pour out His Holy Spirit, and unless
you don’t mean it or don’t believe He will do just that, you can
expect Him to do so.
When I pray this prayer, I expect God to pour His Holy Spirit
immediately all over me and those for whom I pray, and He
does. Here are just a few of the ways I recall God working
through this particular prayer request:
I’ve opened a meeting with this prayer, and after sharing my
testimony, at least three times that I know of, an entire student
athletic team gave their lives to Christ. (That never happened
before I prayed this prayer.)I’ve prayed this prayer with at least two persons who afterward told
me they had intended to commit suicide that very night. At the end
of our prayer, because they changed their minds, I was able to direct
them to people who could help them further.I’ve prayed this prayer with young women who for months could
not stop doing what they were doing. After this prayer, we
continued to stay in touch, and they remained free from temptation
for many months, some for over a year now.
I’ve prayed this prayer with three different young men who were
shaking so badly from the humiliation of their confession that they
could not stop. At the end of this simple prayer, they abruptly
stopped crying and shaking, and then sighed deeply. We immediately
knew only God could have given them that release of peace.
I’ve prayed this prayer in a room full of Christian businesspersons
who were expecting a sales talk, but before my presentation was
over, an older gentleman not only cried in front of his peers, but
confessed his sin, unsolicited.