We Need the Wind

When my son Joel was eight years old, one of the gifts we gave him for his birthday was a kite. He wanted to go fly it that day, so he and I went to a local park and put the kite together. I noticed that there was no wind that day, so I told Joel to run in the park with the string in his hand and the kite would fly. After Joel had been running in the park for about ten

minutes, trying to keep the kite in the air, he grew tired and let the kite fall to the ground. I picked up the kite and went to where Joel was standing. He said, “It was fun for a while, but then I got tired of running. Can we pray and ask Jesus to send us the wind?”

As a dad who was trying to raise my kids up in the ways of the Lord, I was proud that he had thought of praying for the wind! But I was also conflicted, because I wondered what would be the result of praying for the wind if it didn’t happen? How would Joel’s faith be affected if no wind came? I decided that we needed to pray anyway and trust that God would do something good in this situation. We asked Jesus to send the wind, and then we waited. It was a long five minutes - but then the wind came! I picked up the kite and had Joel stand still as I released it into the sky. What a glorious day that was!

The Hebrew word for wind is Ruach (pronounced roo-akh) rûaḥ (רוּחַ). It is used in the Old Testament 378 times and can be translated as wind, breath or spirit. These are types or ways to refer to or indicate the work of the Holy Spirit. We can see this in Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) in Ps. 51:11 and Ruach Elohim (Spirit of God) in Gen. 41:38. In the Old Testament, we see that the Ruach Elohim, or the Ruach HaKodesh, quickens, fills, comes upon and comforts. Which is also what we know that the Holy Spirit does this in the New Testament. When we ask for the wind of the Spirit or the breath of the Spirit, it is the work of the Holy Spirit we are asking for.

As followers of Jesus, it is clear from the scriptures that we need the Holy Spirit (the Wind of the Spirit). We receive the indwelling of the Spirit when we are saved by trusting in the finished work of Christ (1 Cor. 12:3, Rom. 8:9, Eph. 1:13-14). But we also need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit throughout our lives and ministries. Ephesians 5:18b : “be filled with the Spirit,” is a present passive imperative verb in the Greek language (plēroō, πληρόω) and indicates that we need to be constantly refilled with the Holy Spirit (literally: be being filled). Some might ask, “Why do we need to be constantly refilled (or empowered) by the Holy Spirit? The humorous, yet accurate answer is: we “leak.”

Drawing again from the account of the wind and the kite, we might see some helpful parallels to our Christian lives and ministries. We can function for a while on our own strength, and even if we are “working for the Lord,” we will eventually run out of energy or just give up. Sometimes it is difficult to recognize we are just running around, as the results keep coming (for a while) and we seem to be okay. That kite will stay in the air as long as we keep running! But at some point we will get tired and realize there must be a better way.

It seems like the word “repentance” gets a bad rap, but the Bible makes it clear that if we turn back to God (repentance), only good can come from it. “God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance.” (Rom. 2:4) When the Lord helps us to see that we are striving and operating in our own strength, it is his kindness that allows us to turn back to Him and confess this and ask for the refilling of the Holy Spirit.

This begs the question: “How do we receive the filling (and refilling) of the Holy Spirit?

The answer is that we simply ask. “(You) know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:14b.) This should become for us a daily request: “Lord Jesus, fill me (empower me) again today with the Holy Spirit.” “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you…” (Luke 11:9.) Ask here in the Greek is a Present Active Imperative verb and it means to keep asking, (keep knocking, and keep seeking). God is more than willing to answer that kind of prayer because we know it is His will that we be filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit each day (Eph. 5:18). We need the Wind!