Power Outage

“Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.”

—Psalm 51:11

This past Spring we went through a terrible storm that knocked the power out. Everything was affected and it was unbelievable how dependent we were upon electricity, but failed to realize it. We didn’t have electricity for the refrigerator, computer, cell phones, hot water heater, etc. We soon realized how dependent we had become, but it wasn’t until the storm came that we became aware of it.

The same is true for us spiritually. Walking by the Spirit enables us to live lives blessed by God. We are able to witness and pray effectively, while living victoriously over sin (1 John 3:9). Inevitably, we will sin though. There are numerous reasons why we might give in to sin—whether it is letting circumstances drown our faith, giving in to our fallen desires, or failure to cultivate our fellowship with God, or His people, we will, unfortunately, sin. And we will experience the guilt, shame, and broken fellowship sin brings with it.

King David understood the destructive power of sin. After being confronted by Nathan over his adultery with Bathsheba, David repented—his prayer is recorded in the fifty-first Psalm. He prayed that God would have “mercy” (v. 1), “blot” out his transgressions (v. 1), and “cleanse” him from his sin (v. 2). He acknowledged his sin and guilt before God—and that he was deserving of God’s judgment (v. 4). But, he prays for restoration—a “clean heart” and a “right spirit” (v. 10) so that he might do what God desires. He also asks that God wouldn’t “cast” him away, nor take His Holy Spirit from him. In the Old Testament, the Spirit of God didn’t permanently indwell individuals as He does since Christ’s ascension. The Spirit would often times “rush” upon individuals, empowering them for certain tasks (Judges 14:6, 19; 15:14; 1 Samuel 11:6; 16:13). And in the instance of King Saul, the Spirit departed from him when he sinned (1 Samuel 16:14). David was asking that God’s Spirit not be taken from him because he realized that it was only by God’s Spirit that he was able to be victorious in battle and reign effectively.

And while God’s Spirit doesn’t depart from us, He is grieved, and we experience our own power outage—all because the fellowship was broken, we failed to walk in His Spirit and in His Word. As R.A Torrey (1856-1928) wrote,

“Sin is an awful thing, and one of the most awful things about it is the way it hinders prayer, the way it severs the connection between us and the source of all grace and power and blessing. Anyone who would have power in prayer must be merciless in dealing with his own sins. ‘If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me’ (Ps. 66:18). So long as we hold on to sin or have any controversy with God, we cannot expect Him to heed our prayers.”—R.A. Torrey, How to Pray, p. 79.

The only answer to a spiritual power outage is confession and repentance. By confessing our sins before Christ we experience the freedom forgiveness affords. Our consciences are cleansed and the joy of our salvation is restored (Psalm 51:12). May God enable us all to experience the joy of being restored to Him. Amen.