“For I do not do the good I desire; rather, it is the evil I do not desire that I end up doing.” Romans 7:19
Saint Paul says, why do I do the things I don’t want to do, and I can’t do the things I want to do?
Today we’re going to pray for that very situation. We’re going to pray that the Holy Spirit would come to us in power. We have the power to do what we ought, and the power to say no to the things we need to say no to. Come, Holy Spirit. I believe Christians, Catholics, the Church—we need more power.
“Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
It seems in many ways that Catholic Christians are walking around kind of like zombies, and they’re easy prey. The reality is—and we need to know this—that the beast is prowling around. Scripture talks about this all the time, that the beast is prowling around, and you are the prize. The evil one, the enemy, the beast, wants to take us down. This isn’t crazy talk. This is the reality of the spiritual life. If there is a Kingdom of God, then there is a kingdom of darkness.
It’s time that we baptized Catholics step into the power that has been given to us. When we see the actions of the Lord, when we see the workings of the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures, there was a power that was moving in them. That same power is present to you. The same power is present to us, and we have been given power. We have been given authority.
Since the Holy Spirit has begun to animate my life more intentionally, when I was consistently praying for more of the Holy Spirit, I have seen a greater power in my life. My life has been changed. I have more power over sin. I have more power over temptation. I don’t do things that I once did, and I’m able to do things that I want to do. That’s not, obviously, to say that I’m perfect or that I never make a mistake. But God has done great things in my life by the power of the Holy Spirit. I’ve met people who have struggled with addiction for decades, and the Holy Spirit breaks into their life and they’re freed. There’s a power.
I think most people, they want to be virtuous. They want to be more patient, more kind, more loving, but it seems like they just don’t have the power to do that. The same power, the same Spirit that rose Jesus from the dead is present to you, is alive in you. We need to claim that. We need to stand in that. We need to live in that.
Come, Spirit! Come with power. We get tired of this cycle of constantly falling and getting back up, falling, getting back up. Come with your power that actually frees me, that doesn’t just make it a little better. God, You’re about bringing dead people to life, not just making us a little bit better. Come with a power that is experienced, a power that heals, a power that frees, a power that changes.
Come with Your Holy Spirit in my life. Come in power.
Let’s set calling upon ALL the power of the Holy Spirit as our heartfelt prayer as we close out 2025 and move forward to a new year – a new Pentecost.