Prayer Works Morning Devotion: May 2, 2025

"Waiting On The Holy Spirit - Getting Our Hearts Ready for Pentecost"

"Numbers 27:18-23"

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Good morning and a wonderful day to be alive. You know, I always say every time that we are alive is an opportunity to feel the hand of God do something remarkable and special. And it's Friday and I hope you had a wonderful night and get real rested. 

Ready for an exciting day that the Lord has made for us and we are looking forward, I'm looking forward to this day. Like I always look forward to every day. Because I know I'm going to say something and I hear something.  

And I'm going to hear the counsel of the Holy Story today as I go through my day, which is such a remarkable thing that God can speak to us any moment, anywhere, anytime and is constantly speaking. 

So we are grateful for that. Let us pray, Heavenly Father we thank you that as we look at your word. You are speaking to us divinely to have clear clarity and understanding and knowledge that you desire for us to have.  

Because there are things that you want to do through us in this life. So we thank you for choosing us and making us part of this Kingdom with all its statutes and values. We pray, Lord, that our hearts and our minds remain pure. And our hands and our feet remain usable.  

Because as you build your Kingdom with the inhabitants of it, we want to be participants in everything that you do. So we thank you, Lord that you have chosen as. That we are part of this, we know there's so many people that are on the outskirts.  

Some who’re not even aware of this Kingdom. That is functioning throughout this entire world. But for choosing us, we consider it a privilege and honor that we can have daily communion with you.  

So Father as we look at your world, open the eyes of our understanding so that we can remain in line with everything that you're doing. So we bless you and honor you this morning in Jesus name, Amen.  

Well, today we are all the way in the book of numbers. Numbers 27:18. Just to remind all of us, we are. We are reading scriptures and kind of tracking the Holy Spirit. The journey to Pentecost.  

The reason we are doing this is because in June we are anticipating and excited that God will pour out his spirit on us. Just as he did in the book of Acts on the day of Pentecost, which was 50 days after Jesus death and crucifixion. 

And when he ascended into heaven and then there was a great exchange that happened where his spirit came down and rested upon those who believed on him.  

And we know most of us have experienced the gift of the Holy Spirit. And he has exhibited himself in us, but we continue asking for more and we continue asking to be filled because we know it is important for us to be filled with this gift of the Holy Spirit. 

So as we have preaching, we have read so many different scriptures so that we can broaden our understanding of our relationship between the Holy Spirit and our interaction with him and how God has given him as our counsel, as our friend, as the spirit knows all things and reveals them to men. 

What we are doing things that we now until June 8th, which is Sunday, which is Pentecost Sunday. So remember, September 27:18, so the Lord said to Moses take Joshua. Moses is about to go so there has to be another leader who come and take over.  

So God says to Moses take Joshua, son of Nun. A man in whom is the spirit of leadership. There's leadership, but then there is the spirit of leadership, which is what Joshua had. He had the spirit of leadership already. Says take him and lay your hands on him.  

Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and Eleazar is Eron son, who became the high priest. And so have him stand before the priest and the entire assembly and Commission him in their presence. Give him some of your authority. 

So the whole Israelite community will obey him. He is to stand before Eleazar the priests. Who obtained decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord. At his command, he and the entire community of Israel will go out at his command, they will come in.  

So Moses did as the Lord commanded, he took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly. Then he laid his hands on him and commissioning him as the Lord instructed through Moses.  

Today I want to talk a little bit about the relationship that exists between the Holy Spirit and our hands, your hands and my hands.

The special relationship that exists between the Holy Spirit and your hands, and this is why the laying of hands is so important. And is a function of the Holy Spirit. And we're going to look at the hands.  

So we have a clear understanding of this function. So your hands, your hands are used for a variety of reasons. There's so many things you can do with your hands. One of the most important one is that you can build with hands.  

Hands are used for building. Hands are used for grasping things, holding things. Hands are use as a communicating. 2. Your hands have sensory nerves in them that gives you the ability to feel. Your hands can see.  

This is why in the dark you see better with your hands than with your eyes. Your hands are a tool that can be used to manipulate objects or to do things. Then more importantly, again there's a relationship that exists between your hand and your eyes.  

And they call this the hand eye coordination. And if you didn't know every single person here has a dominant eye that if you are to do maybe one day when we are together, we'll do this experiment.  

So you have a greater understanding of what we're talking about. That your eye you have one eye that sees extremely well than the other. And the best way to find out is making use of your hands in order to understand which one is your dominant eye.  

And you can't do this without hands to understand which one is your dominant eye. So which means that this relationship that exists between your eyes and your hand is a function of our human existence that is also connected to the Holy Spirit.  

Your hands are used as a way to greet people. To show that there is trust. Your hands are used for praying. Your hands are used for showing comfort. They are used to move things, to pull things.  

One of the most important parts of the human body is your hands more than your legs. I've seen people without legs that use the hands to walk. And one of the most difficult things is you don't have a sense of balance if you don't have hands.  

Or if you have, I've seen people with one hand they can participate in some of the activities that we do because they have one hand. They might figure out how to do certain things, but it's just complicated because you have one hand and with your hands, you have 10 fingers.  

Which is the number of governments and each finger has its own responsibilities. From pointing to calling to all kinds of things. So your hands are extremely important and they have an incredible relationship with the Holy Spirit.  

How do we get to this understanding by seeing Jesus using his hands to convey blessing. And throughout the scriptures you see there is the laying of hands to convey blessing and for other ritualistic Christian fundamental things.  

So your hands are important. They are extremely important and they have an incredible relationship between with the Holy Spirit.

So let's look at our hands spiritually for the Hebrew word for hands is semikhah. Which is to confer or ordain or invoke the Holy Spirit.  

If you want to involve the Holy Spirit, you have to use your hands. The Hebrew word for that is semikhah. In other words, you cannot convey a blessing without the use of the hands. You cannot ordain a person without the use of hands. Which is the laying of hands. 

This is why in the book of Acts says Simon Peter. When Simon saw that there were people who were receiving power because of the laying of hands, he wanted to be part of that too.  

So God gave us hands and coupled their usage with the relationship with the Holy Spirit. So we lay hands at commissioning. We lay hands for healing and how do we do this? Because I've just given you an array of usage of hands.  

So we lay hands at healing somebody, blessing a person. The invocation of the Holy Spirit. Which is what we are really kind of focusing on, we lay hands at people. When we transfer spiritual gifts like we are seeing in the book of Numbers.  

He says Joshua is spiritual leadership. Now we want to make it public. So in order for us to show that you have spiritual right. Which is the Holy Spirit has already given you a spiritual gift of leadership. 

Now, in order to make that public, we now have to use our hands and lay them to confirm what already has taken place spiritually in you.  

Hands are used for public commendation. So there is this relationship that exists between the Holy Spirit and your hands. That's why there were miracles in Jesus hands. The fish and the loaves multiplied in what? In people's hands as they broke them apart, it multiplied.  

Because your hands are a part and the function of the Holy Spirit. This is why, he says we shall ascend to the hill of the hand to the hill of the Lord. He that have what? Clean hands. So why do your hands have to be clean?  

The reason they have to be clean is because they are part in the function of the Holy Spirit. Without your hands, then we limit the power of what not of the Holy Spirit of what we can do with the Holy Spirit.  

We can limit the Holy Spirit value. We can limit ourselves in how we are utilized by the Holy Spirit. That's why we have clean hands. That's why we have to have clean hands. So in numbers we see the usage of hands in conferring.  

One of the Israel's greatest leaders Joshua by the laying of hands. So this relationship that exists my prayer is that we have a greater understanding of how powerful that is. 

So that number one, we keep our hands clean and two, we understand that from our hands we derive or we get used more by the Holy Spirit through the laying of hands. That's why the scripture says if anyone is sick amongst you, call what call the elders of the church to come and lay hands.  

Why do they have to lay hands? Because hands convey the blessings, build, give life, comforts, impacts. So we are seeing how the Holy Spirit requires that our hands are part of his function. Isn't it amazing how even in church when somebody needs prayer.  

They bow their head before you so that you can lay your hands on them. Every believer knows this because we all have probably done this before. That when you are desperate for a thing or a prayer.  

You know where you need somebody to pray for you or a preacher. You feel somehow there is this desire in you that somebody lays their hands on you.

Now look at how the devil to show you how powerful this is, look at how the devil tries to get in in the game.  

And the relationship between the Holy Spirit and you have people now say we can read your palm And then when you really kind of think about it that's actually easy to read people's palm.  

Because all you have to do is take somebody's hand and they will tell you whether this person works hard or not, or whether this person does whatever they, you know, people who work hard in construction, you can touch their hands and you know, this is a hard worker.  

People who do other things, you can just touch their hands and you have a great understanding of what they do by just touching their hands. Because we use our hands more than any other part of the body.  

In terms of our function which signifies that we have to use the Holy Spirit in everything that we do. In as much as we use our hands in everything that we do. This is why it's so important to have clean hands.  

One of the reasons why David did not do all that God desiring to do is because his hands became filthy. Hence, the Lord says no you can’t build me a temple with those hands they've blood on them. Your son is going to have to do that. 

That's why it's important to have clean hands. What do you use your hands for? Because if they are used to confer blessing to give authority, the scripture says in Numbers, it says most give him some of your authority.  

How do you give anything to anybody by handing it over using what your hands that's how we also give authority. Now the scripture says Joshua had the spirit of leadership. Who gave them the freedom of leadership, the Holy Spirit. Moses, you have to lay your hands and give him some of your authority.  

So that some of your authority, coupled with the spirit of leadership that he already has been given by the Holy Spirit can now come together and recognize that this man he now is the leader of the Nation of Israel.  

Now when you think about what Joshua went on to do. You then you have a greater understanding of this particular event. Where the spirit of leadership collided with the laying of hands by Moses.  

Now when you think about all Moses had been through. And when you think about all the work Moses had done through the usage of his hands. From parting the Red Sea, working with that walking sea. All that was in his hands coupled with the Holy Spirit.  

The conveying of that blessing became a significant moment because there was the use of hands and there was the Holy Spirit putting in Joshua that spirit of leadership. Now it's important for us to understand and to know that in all of this, this is the Lord's doing.  

We can't conjure this up. He just got it. Their time you will find out in this journey of ministry that you will feel the need to lay hands on people. There are times I feel it, even in public, the hands start itching and you hear the Holy Spirit say lay hands.  

Why? Because the spirit that's already at work in that person is now desiring to be recognized by the laying of hands. So my prayer is that out of this little teaching here. I'm sure at some point in this lifetime we'll go deeper on this subject.  

So that we really understand the idea behind clean hands and what your hands represent and the relationship they have between with the Holy Spirit. So I want to encourage everybody that use your hands wisely.  

Lay your hands on those around you. Those who are sick. Lay your hands on your children. Confer blessing on your children. Don't use your hands for heinous things. Because once they are filthy spiritually it's hard to clean them.  

Who shall ascend to the hill of the hand Lord? He vetted clean hands, the first thing it doesn't say who shall ascend. How do you ascend anyway? If you climb the mountain, you don't use your hands, you use what you use your feet to climb. But I can tell you this though. 

If you ask any mountain near a person, you tell you that you can never climb Mount Everest without your hands. Because you need them more than you need your legs. If you are falling to brace yourself, you need your hands.  

So your hands are so important and they have an incredible relationship with the Holy Spirit. So make sure you use them accordingly, and you keep them clean. That's why you should never allow people that your spirit does not agree with to lay hands on you, Amen.  

So let's use our hands wisely and we see it in the book of Numbers. That this great leader of this conviction, on this day, on this particular day. There had to be the laying of hands in order to confirm and confer what the Holy Spirit had already done in Joshua.  

So one day when we lay hands on you. We are already confirming what the Holy Spirit has already done inside of you. So let's lay hands on our children.

Let's say hands on things to confer the blessing so that the relationship between the Holy Spirit and your hands can confirm some things that the Lord is doing.  

Sometimes some sicknesses or some people all they need in order to see the light is just the laying of hands, Amen. So let's make use of our hands the right way and let's make sure they remain clean before the Lord. If we are to ascend to the hill of the Lord.  

So let us pray. Heavenly Father, we are grateful that you see things and do things that constantly enable us to become your children functioning well in this body. We thank you for insight into how you design things.  

So that our understanding the eyes of our understanding continues to grow. We thank you sovereign authority for the gift of the Holy Spirit. I can't imagine our lives without your spirit. That is revealing to us all the thoughts and desires that you have for humanity.  

I pray now that may our ears be quick to hear and may our hearts be quick to obey and made our hands be quick to be used. So that the evidence of the Holy Spirit in us continues to be seen. So that others may believe.  

Lord, I pray for your people that in our efforts to remain clean before you help us to have clean hearts, pure hearts and clean hands. Because we now understand the relationship that exists between our hands and the Holy Spirit.  

Lord, I pray that as we lay hands on others, let it be a way to confirm what the Holy Spirit is already being doing or is it worth doing in others. Help us to deal with our hands. Help us to love with our hands. Help us to comfort others with our hands.  

We thank you God for loving us in so many different ways. We bless you this Friday as we go about our businesses. As we meet different ones, we pray for opportunities to minister this gospel to somebody who does not know it.  

May you grow our circle of friends and our circle of influence. So that somebody gets to believe so they can join us on this walk of Christianity as we march towards the Kingdom of God.  

May you grow us spiritually so that we are never stagnant but constantly growing and constantly being filled. Because we know there is greater work to be done that demands us being filled to the dream by the Holy Spirit.  

I pray that you open our eyes to see things that we wouldn't ordinarily see. Open the eyes of our hearts and our understanding in the name of Jesus. Help us to build with our hands as we continue to march towards the Kingdom of God.  

Lord, I pray for every single person on this prayer call. May the blessing of the Lord be upon everybody, that we will dare to believe what you have put in our spirit to believe. That we will not stop at anything as we continue to uncover the mysteries of this Kingdom.  

Because we know unto us are given the mysteries of this Kingdom that we possess in our quiver. The function of the Holy Spirit in us. Hence, we want to remain the antidote to the situations and challenges that we see in our world.  

Your word says if my people, that's us. If we're called by your name and humble ourselves and seek your face and turn from our wicked ways, only then will you hear from heaven and heal this land. 

So I pray, Lord, that may we hold true that responsibility of being called by your name. So that the healing destination desires will be attained. I know you are doing things in our world. Your ways are better and higher than our ways.  

So there are things that we know we desire and we want you to do. But most times your ways are higher than us. Your thoughts are higher than us. Hence Lord, we always spend in expectation of knowing that you are able to surprise us any moment, any minute, any moment.  

And we stand excited on the fact that you can do anything anywhere, anytime and that you are never late. You're always on time. So, Father, as we look to the hills where our help comes from. We thank you in advance for all that you are doing and all that you have already done.  

I pray that if there's anyone who is sick amongst us physically, emotionally. Those who might be weary from the journey. I pray Lord, that may the Holy Spirit fill us again in the name of Jesus.  

I pray, Lord that as we make plans constantly bringing us to the right place and to the right people. I pray, Lord for every family represented here. Bless our children. Bless our children. We are growing in an environment that we can't even understand or fathom as parents.  

So I'm praying let me the Holy Spirit governs every movement they make. May angels walk with them on assignment. To minister first but to protect them from harm and danger seen or unseen, physical or spiritual.  

We pray, Lord, knowing that you can hear us in this moment in this hour. We will forever continue to dedicate our children back to you. Because we know they're a gift from you. And it's our job to train them up in the way that they should go.  

So I pray that you continue to reveal us the way they should go. So that our training lines up with what you are doing in the earth. Bless our girls. Bless our boys. We pray for good spouses, Men and women who love the Lord. 

May you raise out of the incredible phenomenon marriages. Where the Kingdom of God can sit and rest on. Healthy marriages, healthy children spiritually loving you. That's what we are praying for.  

I pray for those, I pray for our jobs. May our influence grow while we are on these jobs. Because we are walking with you and we are walking with the counsel of the Holy Spirit. Continue to open doors and opportunities to your people.  

That while we are doing what we are doing while we are building with these hands. May what we build have influence in others. So they can just believe as we do. God bless our cities, bless this nation, bless those who are in leadership.  

I pray Lord for as you open their eyes to what you are doing so they can line up, they can line themselves accordingly. For those who are belligerent, I pray Lord that you help them in the name of Jesus.  

Give them an opportunity to repent because we are seeing right here in the book Numbers how leadership is obtained. So those who don't possess the spirit of leadership in as much as Joshua had the spirit of leadership.  

I pray, Lord, that you give them the spirit of leadership. If they refuse to accept. We pray that may we not have leaders who don't have the spirit of leadership. I thank you that you hear us when we pray.  

We'll continue to look to you knowing that where our help comes from that you are a source of refuge, that you hide us under the shadow of your wings. And now as we go through this Friday, bless us mightily.

Lead us not into temptation, continue to deliver us from the evil one. For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever, Amen. 

Brothers and sisters clean hands, pure heart. Let's ascend to the hill of the Lord because we now know that the Holy Spirit has an incredible relationship with your hands.

Use them wisely. May the Lord bless you, may we all have an incredible phenomenal weekend and we will meet on Sunday for Bible study.