41And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. [simple_tooltip content=’39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,
40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43 But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”
46 And Mary said:
“My soul magnifies the Lord,47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.51 He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.53 He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.54 He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,55 As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.”56 And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.’](Luke 1:39-56)[/simple_tooltip]
Upon hearing the greeting of Mary, John the Baptist leaped for joy inside his mother’s womb [simple_tooltip content=’For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.’](v. 44)[/simple_tooltip]. A six-month-old fetus experienced unbridled emotion, voluntarily leaped for joy, and was actually filled with the Holy Spirit.
It is no coincidence that the man Jesus called the greatest of all Old Testament prophets was the only man in the Bible to be filled with the Holy Ghost in his mother’s womb [simple_tooltip content=’For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”’](Luke 7:28)[/simple_tooltip]. The anointing of God that breaks every yoke is simply the manifest presence and working of the Holy Spirit [simple_tooltip content=’It shall come to pass in that day, that his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.’](Isa. 10:27)[/simple_tooltip]. The Holy Spirit is the part of the Godhead that empowers us for service.
God is not asking us to live for Him. He is asking us to let Him live through us [simple_tooltip content=’I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.’](Gal. 2:20)[/simple_tooltip]. The Christian life is not a changed life but an exchanged life. This can only be accomplished when the Holy Spirit is leading and empowering us.
Even Jesus didn’t begin His ministry until he was anointed with the Holy Spirit, and He was the sinless Son of God. How much more do we need to depend on the power of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives?
Today, be conscious of the presence of the Holy Spirit in you and expect Him to supernaturally guide you and empower you. If you ask, you will receive [simple_tooltip content=’9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?
12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”’](Luke 11:9-13)[/simple_tooltip].