Category: Daily Devotionals – Smith Wigglesworth

September 5

And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. — Acts 22:16

Scripture reading: Galatians 3:1–14

I want to take you to the Scriptures to prove my position that tongues are the evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Businessmen know that in cases of law where there are two clear witnesses, they could win a case before any judge. On the clear evidence of two witnesses, any judge will give a verdict. What has God given us? He has given us three clear witnesses on the baptism in the Holy Spirit—more than are necessary in law courts.

The first is in Acts 2:4, on the Day of Pentecost: “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Here we have the original pattern. And God gave to Peter an eternal word that couples this experience with the promise that came before it: “This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel” (v. 16). God wants you to have this—nothing less than this. He wants you to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit according to this original Pentecostal pattern.

In Acts 10, we have another witness. Cornelius had had a vision of a holy angel and had sent for Peter. When Peter arrived and proclaimed the Gospel message, the Holy Spirit fell on all those who heard his words.

And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. Acts 10:45)

What convinced these prejudiced Jews that the Holy Spirit had come? “For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God” (v. 46). There was no other way for them to know. This evidence could not be contradicted. It is the biblical evidence.

If some people were to have an angel come and talk to them as Cornelius did, they would say that they knew they were baptized. Do not be fooled by anything.

We have heard two witnesses. Now let us look at Acts 19:6, which records Paul ministering to certain disciples in Ephesus: “And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.”

These Ephesians received the identical biblical evidence that the apostles had received at the beginning, and they prophesied in addition. Three times the Scriptures show us this evidence of the baptism in the Spirit. I do not glorify tongues. No, by God‘s grace, I glorify the Giver of tongues. And above all, I glorify Him whom the Holy Spirit has come to reveal to us, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is He who sends the Holy Spirit, and I glorify Him because He makes no distinction between us and those who believed at the beginning.

But what are tongues for? Look at the second verse of 1 Corinthians 14, and you will see a very blessed truth: “For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.” Oh, hallelujah! Have you been there, beloved? I tell you, God wants to take you there. The passage goes on to say, “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself” (v. 4).

Enter into the promises of God. It is your inheritance. I pray that you may be so filled with Him that it will not be possible for you to move without a revival of some kind resulting.

Thought for today: Be sure that what you receive is according to the Word of God.

September 4

Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? — Acts 19:2

Scripture reading: Isaiah 61

When I returned home from Sunderland, my wife said to me, “So you think you have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Why, I am as much baptized in the Holy Spirit as you are.” We had sat on the platform together for twenty years, but that night she said, “Tonight you will go by yourself.” I said, “All right.” My wife went back to one of the furthermost seats in the hall, and she said to herself, “I will watch him.”

I preached that night on the text the Lord had given me from Isaiah 61. I told what the Lord had done for me. I told the people that I was going to have God in my life and that I would gladly suffer a thousand deaths rather than forfeit this wonderful infilling that had come to me.

My wife was very restless, just as if she were sitting on a red-hot poker. She was moved in a new way and said, “That is not my Smith that is preaching. Lord, You have done something for him.”

As soon as I finished, the secretary of the mission got up and said, “I want what the leader of our mission has got.” He tried to sit down but missed his seat and fell on the floor. There were soon fourteen of them on the floor, my own wife included. We did not know what to do, but the Holy Spirit got hold of the situation, and the fire fell. A revival started and the crowds came. It was only the beginning of the flood tide of blessing. We had touched the reservoir of the Lord‘s life and power. Since that time, the Lord has taken me to many different lands, and I have witnessed many blessed outpourings of God‘s Holy Spirit.

Thought for today: It is when you get out of the will of God that you have a hard time.

September 3

Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? — Acts 19:2

Scripture reading: Mark 1:1–12

As the days passed, I became more and more hungry for God. I had opposed the meetings so much, but the Lord was gracious, and I will always remember that last day— the day I was to leave. God was with me so much. They were to have a meeting, and I went, but I could not rest. This revival was taking place at an Episcopal church. I went to the rectory to say goodbye, and I said to Sister Boddy, the rector‘s wife, “I cannot rest any longer; I must have these tongues.”

She replied, “Brother Wigglesworth, it is not the tongues you need but the baptism. If you will allow God to baptize you, the other will be all right.”

I answered, “My dear sister, I know I am baptized. You know that I have to leave here at four o‘clock. Please lay hands on me so that I may receive the tongues.”

She stood up and laid her hands on me, and the fire fell. There came a persistent knock at the door, and she had to go out. That was the best thing that could have happened, for I was alone with God. Then He gave me a revelation. Oh, it was wonderful! He showed me an empty cross and Jesus glorified. I do thank God that the cross is empty, that Christ is no longer on the cross.

Then I saw that God had purified me. I was conscious of the cleansing power of the precious blood of Jesus, and I cried out, “Clean! Clean! Clean!” I was filled with the joy of knowing that I had been cleansed. As I was extolling, glorifying, and praising Him, I was speaking in tongues “as the Spirit gave [me] utterance” (Acts 2:4). I knew then that I had received the real baptism in the Holy Spirit.

It was all as beautiful and peaceful as when Jesus said, “Peace, be still!” (Mark 4:39). The tranquillity and the joy of that moment surpassed anything I had ever known up to that time. But hallelujah! These days have grown with greater, mightier, more wonderful divine manifestations and power. That was only the beginning. There is no end to this kind of beginning. You will never come to the end of the Holy Spirit until you have arrived in glory—until you are right in the presence of God forever. And even then we will always be conscious of His presence.

What had I received? I had received the biblical evidence. This biblical evidence is wonderful to me. I knew I had received the very evidence of the Spirit‘s incoming that the apostles had received on the Day of Pentecost. I knew that everything I had had up to that time was in the nature of an anointing, bringing me in line with God in preparation. However, now I knew I had the biblical baptism in the Spirit. It had the backing of the Scriptures.

Thought for today: You are never right if you do not have a foundation for your testimony in the Word of God.

September 2

Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? — Acts 19:2

Scripture reading: Acts 19:1–20

Let me tell you about my own experience of being baptized with the Holy Spirit. It had to be something that was based on solid facts in order to move me. I was certain that I had received the Holy Spirit and absolutely rigid in this conviction. Many years ago, a man came to me and said, “Wigglesworth, do you know what is happening in Sunderland, England? People are being baptized in the Holy Spirit exactly the same way that the disciples were on the Day of Pentecost.” I said, “I would like to go.”

Immediately, I took a train, went to Sunderland, and met with the people who had assembled for the purpose of receiving the Holy Spirit. Continuously, I caused disturbances, until the people wished I had never come. They said that I was disrupting the conditions for people to receive the baptism. But I was hungry and thirsty for God, and had gone to Sunderland because I had heard that God was pouring out His Spirit in a new way. I had heard that God had now visited His people and manifested His power, and that people were speaking in tongues as on the Day of Pentecost.

Therefore, when I first got to Sunderland, I said to the people, “I cannot understand this meeting. I have left a meeting in Bradford all on fire for God. The fire fell last night, and we were all laid out under the power of God. I have come here for tongues, and I don‘t hear them – I don‘t hear anything.”

“Oh!” they said. “When you get baptized with the Holy Spirit, you will speak in tongues.”

“Oh, is that it?” I said.

“When the presence of God came upon me, my tongue was loosened, and when I went in the open air to preach, I really felt that I had a new tongue.”

“Ah, no,” they said, “that is not it.”

“What is it, then?” I asked.

“When you get baptized in the Holy Spirit—”

“I am baptized,” I interjected, “and there is no one here who can persuade me that I am not baptized.” So I was up against them, and they were up against me.

I remember a man getting up and saying, “You know, brothers and sisters, I was here three weeks and then the Lord baptized me with the Holy Spirit, and I began to speak with tongues.”

I said, “Let us hear it. That‘s what I‘m here for.”

But he could not speak in tongues at will; he could only speak as the Spirit gave him the ability, and so my curiosity was not satisfied. I was doing what others are doing today, confusing the twelfth chapter of 1 Corinthians with the second chapter of Acts. These two chapters deal with different things; one deals with the gifts of the Spirit, and the other deals with the baptism of the Spirit with the accompanying sign of tongues.

I saw that these people were very earnest, and I became quite hungry for tongues. I was eager to see this new manifestation of the Spirit, and, as I said, I would be questioning all the time and spoiling a lot of the meetings. One man said to me, “I am a missionary, and I have come here to seek the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I am waiting on the Lord, but you have come in and are spoiling everything with your questions.” I began to argue with him; the argument became so heated that when we walked home, he walked on one side of the road, and I walked on the other.

That night, there was to be another meeting, and I purposed to go. I changed my clothes and left my key in the clothes I had taken off. As we came from the meeting in the middle of the night, I found that I did not have my key with me, and this missionary brother said, “You will have to come and stay with me.” But do you think we went to sleep that night? Oh, no, we spent the night in prayer. We received a precious shower from above. The breakfast bell rang, but that was nothing to me. For four days, I wanted nothing but God.

Thought for today: If you only knew the unspeakably wonderful blessing of being filled with the third person of the Trinity, you would set aside everything else to wait for this infilling.

September 1

And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. — Joel 2:28–29

Scripture reading: 1 Corinthians 14:1–25

We know that the prophecy spoken by Joel was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost. This was the first outpouring of the Spirit, but what would it be like now if we would only wake up to the words of our Master, “Greater works than these [you] will do, because I go to My Father” (John 14:12)?

Hear what the Scripture says to us: “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak” (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit is inspiration; the Holy Spirit is revelation; the Holy Spirit is manifestation; the Holy Spirit is operation. When a man comes into the fullness of the Holy Spirit, he is in perfect order, built up on scriptural foundations.

I have failed to see anyone understand 1 Corinthians 12–14 unless he has been baptized with the Holy Spirit. He may talk about the Holy Spirit and the gifts, but his understanding is only a superficial one. However, when he gets baptized with the Holy Spirit, he speaks about a deep inward conviction by the power of the Spirit working in him, a revelation of that Scripture. On the other hand, there is so much that a man receives when he is born again. He receives the first love and has a revelation of Jesus. “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

But God wants a man to be on fire so that he will always speak as an oracle of God. He wants to so build that man on the foundations of God that everyone who sees and hears him will say he is a new man after the order of the Spirit. “Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). New things have come, and he is now in the divine order. When a man is filled with the Holy Spirit, he has a vital power that makes people know he has seen God. He ought to be in such a place spiritually that when he
goes into a neighbor‘s house, or out among people, they will feel that God has come into their midst.

“He who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church” (1 Corinthians 14:3–4). There are two edifications spoken of here. Which is the first? To edify yourself. After you have been edified by the Spirit, you are able to edify the church through the Spirit. What we need is more of the Holy Spirit. Oh, beloved, it is not merely a measure of the Spirit, it is a pressed down measure. It is not merely a pressed-down measure, it is “shaken together, and running over” (Luke 6:38). Praise the Lord!

Thought for today: Anybody can hold a full cup, but you cannot hold an overflowing cup, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit is an overflowing cup.

August 31

Pursue love. — 1 Corinthians 14:1

Scripture reading: 1 Corinthians 13

When love is in perfect operation, all other things will work in harmony, for prophetic utterances are of no value unless they are perfectly covered with divine love. Our Lord Jesus would never have accomplished His great plan in this world except that He was so full of love for His Father, and love for us, that His love never failed to accomplish its purpose.

I believe that His love will have to come into our lives. Christ must be the summit, the desire, the plan of all things. All our sayings, doings, and workings must be well pleasing in and to Him, and then our prophetic utterances will be a blessing through God; they will never be side issues. There is no imitation in a man filled with the Holy Spirit. Imitation is lost as the great plan of Christ becomes the ideal of his life.

God wants you to be balanced in spiritual anointing so that you will always do what pleases Him, and not what will please other people or yourself. The ideal must be that all you do will be edifying, and your primary purpose will be to please the Lord.

When someone came to Moses and said that there were two others in the camp prophesying, Moses said, “Oh, that all the Lord‟s people were prophets” (Numbers 11:29). This is a clear revelation along these lines that God wants us to be in such a spiritual, holy place that He could take our words and so fill them with divine power that we would speak only as the Spirit leads in prophetic utterances.

Beloved, there is spiritual language, and there is also human language, which always stays on the human plane. The divine comes into the same language so that it is changed by spiritual power and brings life to those who hear you speak. But this divine touch of prophecy will never come in any way except through the infilling of the Spirit.

Thought for today: If you wish to be anything for God, do not miss His plan.

August 30

Being rooted and grounded in love. — Ephesians 3:17

Scripture reading: Ephesians 2:11–22

It is quite easy to construct a building if the foundation is secure. On the other hand, a building will be unstable if it does not have a solid understructure. Likewise, it is not very easy to rise spiritually unless we have a real spiritual power working within us. It will never do for us to be top-heavy—the base must always be very firmly set. Many of us have not gone on in the Lord because we have not had a secure foundation in Him, and we will have to consider “the pit from which [we] were dug” (Isaiah 51:1). Unless we correctly understand the spiritual leadings, according to the mind of God, we will never be able to stand when the winds blow, when the trials come, and when Satan appears as “an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).

There must be three things in our lives if we wish to go all the way with God in the fullness of Pentecost. First, we must be grounded and settled in love; we must have a real knowledge of what love is. Second, we must have a clear understanding of the Word, for love must manifest the Word. Third, we must clearly understand our own ground, because it is our own ground that needs to be looked after the most.

The Lord speaks at least twice of the good ground into which seed was sown, which also bore fruit and brought forth some hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty (Matthew 13:8; Mark 4:8). Even in the good ground, the seed yielded different portions of fruit. I maintain truly that there is no limitation to the abundance of a harvest when the ground is perfectly in the hands of the Lord. So we must clearly understand that the Word of God can never come forth with all its primary purposes unless our ground is right. But God will help us, I believe, to see that He can put the ground in perfect order as it is left in His hands.

Thought for today: We will never be able to stand unless we are firmly fixed in the Word of God.

August 29

God anointed Jesus…with the Holy Spirit and with power. — Acts 10:38

Scripture reading: Acts 10:24–48

Suppose that all around me are people with needs: a woman is dying; a man has lost all the powers of his faculties; another person is apparently dying. Here they are. I see the great need, and I drop down on my knees and cry. Yet in doing so, I miss it all.

God does not want me to cry. God does not want me to labor. God does not want me to anguish and to be filled with anxiety and a sorrowful spirit. What does He want me to do? Only believe. After you have received, only believe. Come to the authority of it; dare to believe. Say, “I will do it!”

So the baptism of the Holy Spirit says to me, “You have an anointing” (1 John 2:20). The anointing has come; the anointing remains; the anointing is with us. But what if you have not lived in the place in which the unction, the anointing, can be increased? Then the Spirit is grieved; then you are not moved. You are like one who is dead. You feel that all the joy is gone.

What is the matter? There is something between you and the Holy One; you are not clean, not pure, not desirous of Him alone. Something else has come in the way. Then the Spirit is grieved, and you have lost the unction.

Is the Unctioner still there? Yes. When He comes in, He comes to remain. He will either be grieved, full of groaning and travail, or He will be there to lift you above the powers of darkness, transform you by His power, and take you to a place where you may be fully equipped.

Many people lose all potential positions of attainment because they fail to understand this:

But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. (1 John 2:27)

What “anointing” is referred to here? The same anointing from God that anointed Jesus is with you, “and you do not need that anyone teach you.” The same anointing will teach you all things.

O lovely Jesus! Blessed Incarnation of holy display! Thank God for the Trinity displayed in our hearts today. Thank God for this glorious open way. Thank God for life all along the way. Praise God for hope that we may all be changed today. Hallelujah!

Peace, peace, sweet peace,
Coming down from the Father above,
Peace, peace, wonderful peace,
Sweet peace, the gift of God‘s love.

This is the very position and presence that will bring everybody into a fullness.

Thought for today: Thank God for darkness that is turning into day.

August 28

But you have an anointing from the Holy One. — 1 John 2:20

Scripture reading: 1 John 2:15–29

Another of the roles of the Holy Spirit that is necessary for today we find in John 14:26:

But the Comforter, which is the Holy [Spirit], whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (KJV)

Jesus said something very similar in a later chapter: “He will take of what is Mine and declare [reveal] it to you” (John 16:14). Everything that has been revealed to you was first taken. So, first, the Holy Spirit takes of what is Christ‘s and reveals it to you. Then you come to the place where you need another touch. What is it? In the necessity of your ministry, He will bring to your remembrance everything that you need in your ministry. That is an important thing for preachers. God will give us His Word, and if there is anything special we need, He will bring that to our memories, too. The Holy Spirit comes to bring the Word to our remembrance.

I will throw this word out to you as a help for future reflection: “You shall receive power” (Acts 1:8). Oh, may God grant that we will not forget it!

What do I mean by that? Many people, instead of standing on the rock-solid word of faith and believing that they have received the baptism with its anointing and power, say, “Oh, if I could only feel that I have received it!”

Very often, your feelings are a place of discouragement. You have to get away from relying on human feelings or desires. Earthly desires are not God‘s desires. All thoughts of holiness, all thoughts of purity, all thoughts of power from the Holy Spirit are from above. Human thoughts are like clouds that belong to the earth. “[God‘s] thoughts are not [our] thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8).

Thought for today: Your feelings rob you of your greatest place of anointing.

August 27

No man can tame the tongue. — James 3:8

Scripture reading: Psalm 19

When the Holy Spirit begins, He tames the whole body until the tongue, moved by the power of the Spirit, says things exactly as the Lord would be delighted for them to be said.

The Holy Spirit is the Comforter; the Holy Spirit takes the necessary words at the right time and gives them to you. After the Holy Spirit takes charge of you, He is the Comforter who brings thoughts and language to your life, and it is amazing.

If we get to the place where we take no thought for ourselves, then God takes thought for us; but as long as we are taking thought for ourselves, we are somewhat hindered in this divine order with God. Taking no thought for yourself, no desire for your human self, not seeking anything for your human condition but that God will be glorified in your body and spirit and that He will be the chief Worker on every line—this is divine appointment. This is holy order.

There is a holy order. There are sects today that call themselves “holy orders,” but the only holy order is where God has so permeated your nature that the Trinity comes and blends perfectly with your human nature. Where the human nature could not help itself, God turned the captivity of the wheels of nature and poured in His divine power until the nature itself became divine property.

Thought for today: I must never, under any circumstances, as long as I live, take advantage of God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit. I have to be subservient to the power of God.