When Paul was preparing for his martyrdom, he was still so concerned for his spiritual son, Timothy. Thus, he exhorted him to

…fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
— 2 Timothy 1:6

Thank the Lord, each of us has a “gift of God” that is within us, to enable us to serve Him. (See the previous Note, “Fan Into Flame the Gift of God that is Within You!” • 1)

Yet, while God has given us this gift, as we see in this verse He will not “fan it into flame” for us; that is our responsibility. We have to exercise ourselves to cause our gift to grow, so that we may gain a profit for the Lord. If instead we are passive, so that we “bury our talent,” we will have to give an account regarding that to the Lord when we see Him. (2 Cor. 5:10; see also the parables in Matt. 25:14-30, Luke 19:11-27.)

So, how can we cause our gift to burn brightly for the Lord? Surely this involves, first, much dealing with the Lord, and then, much prayer.

Practically, the best example of this in the New Testament is the experience of the 120 disciples in Jerusalem, when they were being prepared for the day of Pentecost. They had indeed been dealt with by the Lord in a very thorough way: when they were with Him during His earthly ministry; by passing with Him through His death and resurrection; by seeing Him in His appearances as the risen Christ; and finally, by witnessing His ascension.

Because of all this dealing with the Lord, they were then able to stand with the Lord in prayer for His purpose on the earth in a strong way. Luke tells us that, after the Lord’s ascension,

These all continued steadfastly with one accord in prayer.
— Acts 1:14

And then on the day of Pentecost came the outpouring of the Spirit, so that “tongues of fire” even sat upon each one of them; surely they had “fanned into flame” the gift of God that was within them! And how they shook the world with what they had received from the Lord, through their faithful exercise before Him!

All of this shows us that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost did not happen only because of God’s sovereignty. No doubt, everything had to be initiated by God; still, before the outpouring came, the disciples were fully prepared to receive it, through their dealing with the Lord and by their prayer.

May the Lord today gain such ones in these dark times, who are so serious to deal with Him, and so exercised before Him in prayer, so that the gospel may once again go forth in this country in a prevailing way in this coming year!

Lord, have Your way! Amen.

Sent to our mailing list on
—  20 December 2025 —