On Seeking the Holy Spirit
“That our watching and waiting may be of a proper kind, and be
successful, we must turn entirely away from all created things, and appear
in the presence of God, with a heart entirely empty, and hungering and
thirsting after grace, so that we may boldly say, ‘Lord, here is my
vessel, here I wait, here I continue lying on the brink of the waters;
here, O my God! I expect the promised power from on high, with perfect
resignation and in child-like confidence, that thou wilt, in due time,
fulfill thy promise! Thou hast promised thy Holy Spirit to me; and thou
wilt also perform. Do not look at my poverty and wretchedness, my nakedness
and destitution; for it is for his very reason I need thy grace the most;
on this very account I am worthy of compassion.’
It is thus that a soul, which is entirely turned away from the world, and
directed to God, and which hungers and thirsts after God, waits in a right
and proper manner, and therefore shall be filled with the blessings of
salvation, and most assuredly made partaker of the Holy Spirit. When the
beggar, at the door, has said, ‘Give me a morsel of bread!’ he does not
immediately go away, but waits; and if he is left to stand long, he repeats
his request, again and again, until he has really received what he desires.
And although he be refused, yet he continues to beg, and does not move
until he be attended to. So ought we also to act. We must stand at the door
of God’s grace, and wait, until we have received what we ask for. And
though it may often seem, as though he would not hear us; yet we ought
still to continue our requests, and not move, until he has really granted
us his favours, and fulfilled his promise in us. If it sometimes seems long
to us, so that we are compelled to exclaim, ‘Lord, how long will thou be
unmindful of us? How long dost thou hide thy face from us? My soul is in
terror! O Lord, how long!’ Yet we ought still to be of good courage, and
firmly believe, that help will come, at an hour when we least expect it;
that he will suddenly and all at once hasten to us, comfort, and refresh
us, even as he did for his dear disciples, to whom, after long waiting, he
at length, all at once and instantaneously appeared. “And suddenly there
came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and filled the whole
house where they were sitting.” Thus suddenly does it occur, in the
present day, with many souls. Many, who, with all sincerity of heart, have
frequently waited, sighed and prayed, for many years together, are
sometimes on high; and when they have almost given it up for lost and are
saying to themselves, ‘it is over with us, the Lord has forgotten us;’
he suddenly comes all at once to put to shame their little faith, and lets
the light of his grace shine over them.” Gerhard Tersteegen, Spiritual
Crumbs from the Master’s Table, pp. 250,251