Category: Daily Devotionals – Smith Wigglesworth

October 5

There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. — Acts 4:12

Scripture reading: Isaiah 42:1–13

Paul did not have any power of his own that enabled him to use the name of Jesus as he did. But when he had to go through the privations and the difficulties, and even when all things seemed as if they were shipwrecked, God stood by him and caused him to know that there was Someone with him, supporting him all the time, who was able to carry him through and bring out what his heart was longing for all the time. He seemed to be so unconsciously filled with the Holy Spirit that all that was needed was to bring the aprons and the handkerchiefs to him and then send them forth to heal and deliver. I can imagine these itinerant Jewish exorcists and these seven sons of Sceva in Ephesus looking on and seeing him and saying, ―The power seems to be all in the name. Don‘t you notice that when he sends out the handkerchiefs and the aprons, he says, “In the name of the Lord Jesus, I command the evil spirit to come out‘?” (See Acts 19.)

These people had been watching, and they thought, “It is only the name; that is all that is needed,” and so they said, “We will do the same.” They were determined to make this thing work, and they came to a man who was possessed with an evil power. As they entered into the house where he was, they said, “We charge you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out.” The demon said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” (Acts 19:15). Then the evil power leaped upon them and tore their clothes off their backs, and they went out naked and wounded.

Oh, that God would help us to understand the name of Jesus! There is something in that name that attracts the whole world. It is the name, oh, it is still the name, but you must understand that there is the ministry of the name. It is the Holy Spirit who is behind the ministry. The power is in knowing Him.

Thought for today: The name of Jesus brings power over evil spirits.

October 4

Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 3:13–14

Scripture reading: Colossians 1:9–18

When Jesus was thirty years old, the time came when it was made manifest at the Jordan River that He was the Son of God. How beautifully it was made known! It had to be made known first to one who was full of the vision of God. The vision comes to those who are full of God. When God has you in His own plan, what a change; how things operate! You see things in a new light. God is being greatly glorified as you yield from day to day. The Spirit seems to lay hold of you and bring you further along. Yes, it is a pressing on, and then He gives us touches of His wonderful power, manifestations of the glory and indications of greater things to follow. These days that we are living in now speak of even better days to come.

Where would we be today if we had stopped short, if we had not fulfilled the vision that God gave us? I am thinking about the time when Christ sent the Spirit. Saul, who later became the apostle Paul, did not know much about the Spirit. His heart was stirred against the followers of Jesus, his eyes were blinded to the truth, and he was going to put the newborn church to an end in a short time; but Jesus was looking on. We can scarcely understand the whole process—only as God seems to show us—when He gets us into His plan and works with us little by little.

We are all amazed that we are among the “tongues people.” Some of us would never have been in this Pentecostal movement if we had not been drawn, but God has a wonderful way of drawing us. Paul never intended to be among the disciples; he never intended to have anything to do with this Man called Jesus. But God was working. In the same way, God has been working with us and has brought us to this place. It is marvelous! Oh, the vision of God, the wonderful manifestation that God has for Israel!

I have one purpose in my heart, and it is surely God‘s plan for me: I want you to see that Jesus Christ is the greatest manifestation in all the world and that His power is unequaled, but that there is only one way to minister it. Some of the people in Ephesus, after they had seen Paul working wonders by the power of Christ, began to act in human ways. (See Acts 19.) If I want to do anything for God, I see that it is necessary for me to get the knowledge of God. I cannot work on my own; I must get the vision of God. It must be a divine revelation of the Son of God. It must be that.

I can see as clearly as anything that Saul, in his mad pursuit, had to be stopped along the way. After he was stopped and had the vision from heaven and the light from heaven, he instantly realized that he had been working in the wrong way. And as soon as the power of the Holy Spirit fell upon him, he began in the way in which God wanted him to go. And it was wonderful how he had to suffer to come into the way. (See Acts 9:15–16.) A broken spirit, a tried life, and being driven into a corner as if some strange thing had happened (1 Peter 4:12) —these are surely the ways in which we to get to know the way of God.

Thought for today: Did it ever strike you that we cannot be too full for a vision, that we cannot have too much of God?

October 3

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. — 2 Peter 3:18

Scripture reading: Hebrews 12:12–24

When I think about Pentecost, I am astonished from day to day because of its mightiness, its wonderfulness, and how the glory overshadows it. I think sometimes about these things, and they make me feel that we have only just touched the surface of it. Truly it is so, but we must thank God that we have touched it. We must not give in because we have only touched the surface. Whatever God has done in the past, His name is still the same. When hearts are burdened and they come face-to-face with the need of the day, they look into God‘s Word, and it brings in a propeller of power or an anointing that makes them know that He has truly visited.

It was a wonderful day when Jesus left the glory to come to earth. I can imagine God the Father and all the angels and all heaven so wonderfully stirred that day when the angels were sent to tell the wonderful story of “peace on earth and good will to men.” (See Luke 2:14.) It was a glorious day when they beheld the Babe for the first time and God was looking on. I suppose it would take a big book to contain all that happened after that day up until Jesus was thirty years old. Everything in His life was working up to a great climax. The mother of Jesus hid many of these things in her heart. (See verse 19.)

I know that Pentecost in my life is working up to a climax; it is not all accomplished in a day. There are many waters and all kinds of experiences that we go through before we get to the real summit of everything. The power of God is here to prevail. God is with us.

Thought for today: When the Spirit of God is waiting at your heart‘s door, do not resist Him; instead, open your heart to the touch of God.

October 2

I have come to do Your will, O God. — Hebrews 10:9

Scripture reading: Psalm 51

As we surrender completely to God, He will be delighted to hand to us the gift that He desires us to possess.The more we realize that God has furnished us with a gift, the more completely we will be united with Jesus, so that people will be conscious of Him rather than of His gift.

If everything is not of the Holy Spirit, and if we are not so lost and controlled in the ministry of the gift that it is only to be Jesus, it will all be a failure and come to nothing. None were so self-conscious as those who said, “In Your name, [we have] cast out demons” (Matthew 7:22). They were so controlled by the thought that they had done it all, that God was not in it. But when He comes forth and does it, it is all right.

There is a place in the Holy Spirit where we will not allow unbelief to affect us, for God has all power in heaven and earth. I stand in a place where my faith is not to be limited because I have the knowledge that He is in me and I in Him.

Some of you have broken hearts; you have a longing for something to strengthen you in the midst of the conditions that exist in your lives, and a power to make these conditions different. You have a mighty power that is greater than all natural power. You can take victory over your homes and your spouses and children, and you must do it in the Lord‘s way. Suppose you do see many things that ought to be different; if it is your cross, you must take it and win the victory for God. It can be done, for He who is in you is greater than all the power of hell (1 John 4:4). I believe that anyone filled with the Holy Spirit is equal to a legion of demons any day. The Holy Spirit has His dwelling place within me and is stirring up my heart and life to adore Jesus. Other things must be left behind; I must adore Him.

Thought for today: It is worth everything to gain the Holy Spirit.

October 1

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant. — 1 Corinthians 12:1

Scripture reading: Romans 11:29–12:8

God wants us to enter into the rest of faith. He desires us to have all confidence in Him. He purposes that His Word will be established in our hearts; and, as we believe His Word, we will see that “all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

There is a great weakness in the church of Christ because of an awful ignorance concerning the Spirit of God and the gifts He has come to bring. God wants us to be powerful in every way because of the revelation of the knowledge of His will concerning the power and manifestation of His Spirit. He desires us to be continually hungry to receive more and more of His Spirit.

In the past, I have organized many conferences, and I have found that it is better to have a man on my platform who has not received the baptism but who is hungry for all that God has for him than a man who has received the baptism, is satisfied, has settled down, and has become stationary and stagnant. But of course I would prefer a man who is baptized with the Holy Spirit and is still hungry for more of God.

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of being filled with the Spirit. It is impossible for us to meet the conditions of the day, to “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), to subdue kingdoms and work righteousness and bind the power of Satan, unless we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

We read that, in the early church, “they continued steadfastly in the apostles‟ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). It is important for us also to continue steadfastly in these same things.

God wants us to understand spiritual gifts and to “earnestly desire the best gifts” (1 Corinthians 12:31). He also wants us to enter into the “more excellent way” (v. 31) of the fruit of the Spirit. We must implore God for these gifts. It is a serious thing to have the baptism and yet be stationary. We must be willing to deny ourselves everything to receive the revelation of God‘s truth and to receive the fullness of the Spirit. Only that will satisfy God, and nothing less must satisfy us.

I knew a man who was full of the Holy Spirit and would only preach when he knew that he was mightily anointed by the power of God. He was once asked to preach at a Methodist church. He was staying at the minister‘s house and he said, “You go on to church and I will follow.” The place was packed with people, but this man did not show up. The Methodist minister, becoming anxious, sent his little girl to inquire why he did not come. As she came to the bedroom door, she heard him crying out three times, “I will not go.” She went back and reported that she had heard the man say three times that he would not go. The minister was troubled about it, but almost immediately afterward the man came in. As he preached that night, the power of God was tremendously manifested. The preacher later asked him, “Why did you tell my daughter that you were not coming?” He answered, “I know when I am filled. I am an ordinary man, and I told the Lord that I did not dare to go and would not go until He gave me a fresh filling of the Spirit. The moment the glory filled me and overflowed, I came to the meeting.”

Yes, there is a power, a blessing, an assurance, a rest in the presence of the Holy Spirit. You can feel His presence and know that He is with you. You do not need to spend an hour without this inner knowledge of His holy presence. With His power upon you, there can be no failure. You are above par all the time.

Thought for today: Many people today are in the midst of a great river of life but are dying of thirst because they do not dip down and take it.

September 30

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. — Romans 5:1–2

Scripture reading: 1 Corinthians 1

You are justified. You are being brought into a place of peace. And remember, the peace of God is different from any other peace. It “surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7); it helps you to keep your composure. You are not shaken by earthly things. It is a deep peace, created by the knowledge of a living faith, which is the living principle of the foundation of all truth. Christ is in us, the hope and the evidence of glory (Colossians 1:27).

See how rich you are in Christ: “Through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Peter called it a “precious faith” (2 Peter 1:1). It has passed through Abraham, Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. We have access, we have a right into, we have an open door to all that the Father has, all that Jesus has, and all that the Holy Spirit has. Nothing can keep us out of it. Jesus Christ is the “Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 1:8). Through Him, we may know grace, favor, and mercy, which will lift us and take us through into grace and peace: “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter1:2). Do you want grace and peace to be multiplied? You have it if you dare to believe. We have the right to the promises and the right to all the inheritance of which Christ has made us heirs.

Thought for today: Human weaknesses can spoil the effectiveness of faith. Victories become uncertain, prayers lose the anointing, and the power to take hold is hindered. But when God breathes His life into us, “we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand.”

September 29

For all that is in the world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; is not of the Father but is of the world. — 1 John 2:16

Scripture reading: 2 Timothy 1:6–14

It has been a long time now since the debt of sin was settled, our redemption was secured, and death was abolished. Mortality is a hindrance, but death no longer has power. Sin no longer has dominion. You reign in Christ; you take hold of His finished work. Don‘t groan and travail for a week if you are in need; “only believe” (Mark 5:36). Don‘t fight to get some special thing; “only believe.” It is according to your faith that you will receive (Matthew 9:29). God blesses you with faith. “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22). If you are free in God, believe, and it will come to pass.

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1). Stir yourselves up, beloved! Where are you? I have been planted with Christ in the likeness of His death, and I am risen with Christ (Romans 6:5 KJV). It was a beautiful planting. I am seated with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). God credits me with righteousness through faith in Christ (Romans 4:5), and I believe Him.

Why should I doubt? Why do you doubt? Faith reigns. God makes it possible. How many receive the Holy Spirit, and Satan gets a doubt in? Don‘t doubt; believe. There is power and strength in Him; who will dare to believe God?

Leave Doubting Street; live on Faith-Victory Street. Jesus sent the seventy out, and they came back in victory. (See Luke 10:1–18.) It takes God to make it real. Dare to believe until there is not a sick person, until there is no sickness, until everything that is not of God is withered, and the life of Jesus is implanted within.

Thought for today: We are saved, called with a holy calling—called to be saints, holy, pure, Godlike, sons with power.

September 28

The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. — Romans 8:7

Scripture reading: Romans 8:6–25

A man may be saved and still be carnally minded. When many people hear about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, their carnal minds at once arise against the Holy Spirit. One time, Jesus‘ disciples wanted to call down fire from heaven as a punishment against a Samaritan village for not welcoming Him. But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of” (Luke 9:55).

For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 5:4–5)

God must have people for Himself who are being clothed with a heavenly habitation, perfectly prepared by the Holy Spirit for the Day of the Lord. “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven” (v. 2).

Was Paul speaking here only about the coming of the Lord? No. Yet this condition of preparedness on earth is related to our heavenly state. The Holy Spirit is coming to take out of the world a church that is a perfect bride. He must find in us perfect yieldedness, with every desire subjected to Him. He has come to reveal Christ in us so that the glorious flow of the life of God may flow out of us, bringing rivers of living water to the thirsty land.

“If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Romans 8:10).

Thought for today: When we are clothed with the Spirit, our human depravity is covered and everything that is contrary to the mind of God is destroyed.

September 27

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. — John 10:10

Scripture reading: John 10:1–18

God has a plan for us in this life of the Spirit, this abundant life. Jesus came so that we might have life. Satan comes to steal and kill and destroy (John 10:10), but God has abundance for us—full measure, pressed down, shaken together, overflowing, abundant measure (Luke 6:38). This abundance is God filling us with His own personality and presence, making us salt and light and giving us a revelation of Himself. It is God with us in all circumstances, afflictions, persecutions, and trials, girding us with truth. Christ the Initiative, the Triune God, is in control, and our every thought, word, and action must be in line with Him, with no weakness or failure. Our lives are “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). When He who is our life is manifested, we will also “appear with Him in glory” (v. 4).

For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.…For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 5:1, 4–5)

God‘s Word is a tremendous word, a productive word. It produces what it is—power. It produces Godlikeness. We get to heaven through Christ, the Word of God; we have peace through the blood of His cross. Redemption is ours through the knowledge of the Word. I am saved because God‘s Word says so: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

If I am baptized with the Holy Spirit, it is because Jesus said, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8). We must all have one thought—to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to be filled with God.

The Holy Spirit has a royal plan, a heavenly plan. He came to unveil the King, to show the character of God, to unveil the precious blood of Jesus. Because I have the Holy Spirit within me, I see Jesus clothed for humanity. He was moved by the Spirit, led by the Spirit. We read of some who heard the Word of God but did not benefit from it because faith was lacking in them (Hebrews 4:2). We must have a living faith in God‘s Word, a faith that is quickened by the Spirit.

Thought for today: Our God is a God of might, light, and revelation, preparing us for heaven.

September 26

From now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. — 2 Corinthians 5:16

Scripture reading: Matthew 16:1–19

To no longer know any man according to the flesh is a great thing. Beloved, we will no longer know any man along natural lines. From this moment, we will know everything only on a spiritual basis. Conversation must be spiritual. We can get distracted after we have had a really good meal; instead of no longer knowing any man according to the flesh, so that everything is in spiritual fellowship and union, we lower the standard by talking about natural things.

If you ride with me on a train, you will have to pray or testify. If you don‘t, you will hear a whole lot of talk that will lower the anointing, bring you into a kind of bondage, and make you wish you were riding in another part of the train. But if you break in and have a prayer meeting, you will turn the whole thing around. Go in and pray until you know everybody has been touched by it.

If you go out to dinner with anybody today, don‘t get sidetracked by listening to a long story about the state of their businesses. You must know only one Man now, and that is Christ, and He hasn‘t any business. Yet He is Lord over all businesses. Live in the Spirit, and all things will work together for good to you (Romans 8:28). If you live for your businesses, you will not know the mind of the Spirit. However, if you live in the heavenly places, you will cause your businesses and all things to come out of their difficulties, for God will fight for you.

I won‘t enter into anything that is lower than spiritual fidelity. When I am preaching spiritually anointed thoughts, I must see that I lift my people into a place where I know the Spirit is leading me to know Jesus.

Suppose you know Jesus. What do you say? That He lost out? No, He didn‘t. But a great deal was put upon Him by the people who said,

Is this not the carpenter‟s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things? (Matthew 13:55–56)

They said, “He is only an ordinary man. He was born the same way we all were. You see Him. So what is He?”

You will never get anything that way. He wasn‘t an ordinary man if He was born out of the “loins of Abraham” (Hebrews 7:5). Two sons were born to Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael. One was the son of promise, the other wasn‘t. But Isaac, the son of promise, got the blessings. Isaac was a type of Christ. You can never enter into God‘s conditions in any way but the spiritual way.

For a time, a cloud overshadowed Jesus because of His ancestry. With the Jews, it overshadows Him today because the veil is over their eyes; but the veil will be lifted. (See 2 Corinthians 3:14-16.) With the Gentiles, the veil is already lifted.

We see Him as the Incarnation, as the Holy One of God, as the Son of God, as the “only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). We see Him as the Burden-Bearer, as our Sanctifier, as our Cleanser, as our Baptizer. Know no man according to the flesh, but see Him! As we behold Him in all His glory, we will rise; we cannot help but rise in the power of God.

Know no man according to the flesh. People want holiness. People want righteousness. People want purity. People have an inward longing to be clothed with the Spirit.

May the Lord lead you to the supply of every need, far more than you can “ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20). May the Lord bless you as you are led to dedicate yourself afresh to God this very day.

Thought for today: You will draw people if you refuse to be contaminated by the world.