I want you to picture a large ship coming into a river estuary, wanting to get up river to a port.
Rivers can be very difficult to navigate and the ship’s captain doesn’t know the river well enough to make it safely on his own, so he radios for a harbour-pilot. The harbour-pilot is someone who knows the river like the back of his hand, and can point out all the pitfalls and dangers the ship might face. Imagine if, as he arrives on board, the captain says “Thank you for coming, sir. Now, if you could just take the wheel, we’ll be on our way.’ Of course, this could not happen! It would be irresponsible and illegal. The harbour-pilot might reply by saying politely “As you know, I’m not licensed to take over. However, I would suggest ‘Twenty degrees starboard here sir,….slow down for this section,…..take this bend wider sir”. It is up to the captain to take the advice of the harbour-pilot. If he were to ignore the advice he could potentially crash the ship with devastating consequences1.
In our Christian walk, we need the Holy Spirit to be our harbour-pilot. We cannot be holy without his presence to navigate us through the sometimes tricky waters of our lives. Like the harbour-pilot, he will never take control but is always there to guide us always respecting our free will.
Prophetic and Prayer Focus
Please pray this prayer with me:
“Holy Spirit, help us us to make it our practice to listen to your promptings. We acknowledge you as our harbour-pilot the one who guides and directs us in our lives. Guard our tongue against gossip and give us the mind of Christ to view others as you would with love, compassion and generosity. May your will be done in us today so that we become more like you, amen.”
Make it your attitude, like Jesus, who views Father God as his ‘harbour-pilot’. ‘Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5:19)
Worship
Specific Prayer Points
- If you are struggling with forgiveness, or know of someone who is, ask the Holy Spirit, your harbour-pilot, to guide you in how to pray for those concerned.
- Acknowledge that you don’t always listen to the Holy Spirit, your harbour-pilot. Seek his forgiveness for the times you haven’t heeded his warnings. Do not live under condemnation but embrace his lovingkindness.
- Pray today specifically for family members, neighbours or work colleagues whom the Holy Spirit, your harbour-pilot, puts on your mind. Pray that they would acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
1 Incomparable by Andrew Wilson. Yahweh-Who-Sanctifies-You Page 119.
02 Feb 2022
