Brothers and sisters, still in the mood of prayer, you would lift up your hands into the third heavens and shout like you really want God to listen to you “Every power that is tampering with my destiny, Holy Ghost Fire… Consume them!”
For a moment, please chill and let’s talk.When you shout, Holy Ghost Fire, what do you really mean?
Here’s where I’m going; all through Bible history, nothing like Holy Ghost fire was mentioned. That sounds strange right? But it’s true!
If in doubt, you can do a quick search on it using google and commentaries, but first, let’s wrap this up together.
One of the few instances where fire was used in relation to God was when Elijah called down fire from heaven to burn the altar of Baal in order to shame their gods and no version of the Bible records that as Holy Ghost Fire. The argument that this could have only being the Holy Ghost fire also translates to mean that all the plagues that God sent to the Egyptians can be used in prayer too. Like, Holy Ghost Boils. LOL
Another occasion was in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost but that wasn’t Holy Ghost Fire. It was tongues that can be likened to fire. In simple terms, it means tongues that looked like and was shaped in the form of fire. You can consult other versions of the Bible for clarity on this.
Have you ever wondered that churches outside Africa don’t pray this kind of prayer? I’m tempted to mention some names here but I won’t.
This only means that there must be something wrong with that pattern of prayer if it only applies to those of us in this part of the world. One would think that Christians especially the Pentecostals would have outgrown this cliché kind of prayer but no, we have chosen to remain stuck with man-made inventions. The person who came up with this system of prayer would probably have died a long time ago but we chose to carry his/her legacy on.
Remember Jesus gave us a pattern of prayer and the last time I checked, shouting Holy Ghost fire 3 times isn’t there.
The next time you’re making a list of prayer points and you’re tempted to write Holy Ghost fire because it sounds like firebrand kinda prayer, my advice would be for you to cast and bind that spirit because it’s not from God. Innit?
As we close, don’t forget to give a “hi-five” to five people around you and more importantly, drop your tithes and offerings in the basket before you leave. LOL
People shout “Holy Ghost Fire!” because they believe it is a weapon against the powers of darkness. Unfortunately, our pastors do not encourage the flock to study scriptures to know God personally. So we have loads of Church goers who do not know the word of God. and they swallow anything thrown at them from the pulpit without asking questions.
There are so many things we do in today’s Nigerian Christianity that do not make sense, as they have no biblical reference or basis. But I have come to understand that Nigerian Christians are a bit dumb, no use trying to make them understand that what they believe and practice is actually a lie. For example, Nigerian Christians usually go for all night prayers. I have no problems with that, I pray to God any time. But when you go for all night prayers because you believe prayers offered at night are more potent than prayers offered in the day, then you need to re-examine your faith.
But I know that these things are just a phase. It will pass away, just as the craze for the anointing oil and the “mantle” have long passed away. Any teaching or belief that have no Biblical basis will pass away- it is just a matter of time…