Sweet, Sweet Spirit

It’s December 22, 1990. It’s cold outside—and inside, really.  I’m wearing a green velvet dress and I’m waiting to walk down the aisle.  It’s my sister’s wedding. Not expected really, two daughters marrying in one year. We needed the Holy Spirit now, more than ever. See, my sweet daddy was giving away his baby, his last daughter and it wasn’t supposed to be this soon. She had a sweet blessing on the way and made the decision to get married. She and I both always wanted our dad to sing in our weddings and here we were. He had just sang at mine and that was hard but now he could barely choke out the words. We were “praying and we were praying through.”

A lady by the name of Doris Akers wrote this beautiful song in 1945. One night, as she prayed with her own choir, she felt they weren’t ready for the service and they really needed to pray. Again and again they prayed and they didn’t feel Him. Then she said, “We need to pray and pray through!”  They did and the Holy Spirit came down in a powerful way, just like it did that day in December during my sister’s wedding. The next morning, Doris had this song in her mind, playing over and over. She titled it, “Sweet, Sweet Spirit.”  Here are the lyrics:

There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place,
And I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord;
There are sweet expressions on each face,
And I know they feel the presence of the Lord.

Sweet Holy Spirit, Sweet heavenly Dove,
Stay right here with us, filling us with Your love.
And for these blessings we lift our hearts in praise;
Without a doubt we’ll know that we have been revived,
When we shall leave this place.

There are blessings you cannot receive
Till you know Him in His fullness and believe;
You’re the one to profit when you say,
“I am going to walk with Jesus all the way.”

If you say He saved you from your sin,
Now you’re weak, you’re bound and cannot enter in,
You can make it right if you will yield,
You’ll enjoy the Holy Spirit that we feel”

Words and Music: Doris Akers / Performed by Gaither Vocal Band & SSQ

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When Jesus left earth to go back to His Father, He left us with a task that we could not possibly do on our own. He made it clear that we would need the power of the Holy Spirit.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you
and you will be my witnesses.
Acts 1:8

Have you ever thought about how your life is different because you have the Spirit living inside you? He is your comforter, advisor, encourager, and strength. He guides us in the way we should go!

So as believers, we do feel the “sweet sweet spirit” in this place.  And we know that it’s the Presence of the Lord.  Need Him today? Call on Jesus, ask the Lord for His Holy Spirit to fill you and guide you in every direction and every aspect of your life. And pray and pray and pray through!  What a gift we have been left by Jesus Himself.

And like the song says, “I am going to walk with Jesus all the way!”

Let us pray:  Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for the gift of Your Holy Spirit to guide us and comfort us and fill us so that we can have the joy and freedom given by being saved.  Help us to empty ourselves of us and receive Your Spirit and all that goes with that.  We love You and we praise You for giving us the strength to resist temptation, to be able to love each other, to spread Your hope and good news to the world.  Thank You for the Spirit to intercede on our behalf when we don’t even know what to say.  Help us to keep our eyes on You.  For it’s in Your Name we pray, amen.