Have you ever heard the story about the water pump that was out in the middle of nowhere? Beside it was a two gallon can of water to prime the pump with. It had instructions on the can to make sure you filled it when you were done, so the next person could also prime the pump and get water. I used to have a pond and to get the pump to start pumping water out of the pond and circulate it, you had to prime the pump with water. It took water to bring water out.
Do you know, as Christians, we have a water pump in our heart. For the purpose of this column, let’s call that water pump the Holy Spirit. He came in the moment we asked Jesus into our heart.
Romans 10:9, “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.” 1 Corinthians 6:19, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is IN you?” Acts 15:8, “So God, who knows the HEART, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit.”
My friends, we have the greatest water pump in the world living in us. We get life and life more abundantly from that pump. Jesus referred to this water when he said in John 7:37-39, “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Holy Spirit.”
He said the same thing to the woman at the well in John 4:13, “Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.’ ”
The Holy Spirit IS both the water pump in our lives, and the water that comes out like rivers of living water. You may be asking, how can I tap into that living water? You need to prime the pump with the word of God. Earlier, I said we had to prime the water pump with water to get water. Many times, in scripture, the word is the symbol of water, and so is the Holy Spirit. I am starting to get a little pumped up! (Sorry, I could not help myself.)
Are you seeing the picture here? When we prime our water pump (the Holy Spirit) with the water of the word, out of us will flow rivers of living waters. Can you see the simplicity of that? Water in, water out, water in, water out. All you and I do is prime the pump with his word. As a result, he will pour out of us his rivers of life. He tells us that in John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”
If you are looking for someone else, maybe the pastor in your church, to prime your pump, you will remain a pretty dry Christian without much joy in your life. We all need to prime our own pumps. Priming our own pumps is what makes our relationship with Jesus personal. How often do you prime the amazing water pump who lives in your heart?
Hasselstrom is an evangelist with Cross Tied Ministries.
