Acts 9:5. And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
A prick is something sharp or pointed. A goad to prod an animal with is a type of prick. Often old time animal harnesses had pricks around the edges to keep the animals from kicking against the plow when they plowed. That is the picture I have in mind here. The Lord is trying to get Paul in the harness of salvation but he is kicking against the pricks of the conviction of the Holy Ghost.
There is little doubt that Paul heard many gospel messages before he got saved. The greatest one was preached by Steven. The Holy Ghost was convicting him and wooing him to repent and be saved. However, he decided to kick against the pricks. He got mad when someone gave the gospel to him and preached to him. God was convicting him of sin, righteousness and judgment to come and his response was to kill more Christians. Many will resist being saved out of pride like Paul. They hold to their traditions and religion just like Paul. They kick against the pricks that God has put in their lives and refuse to be saved.
The same is true of some who are saved. God will place restraints in our heart and try to get us to not sin. He pricks us and the Holy Ghost says “no”, yet we continue on and He pricks us again. When you kick against the pricks of the Holy Ghost, you are fighting against God himself. The pricks are what God uses to try and stop us from sinning against him. We need to take heed. It is hard work at times to kick against the prick of conviction. Resisting God will cause problems in your life as you reap the consequences of your sin. We need to pay attention when God brings pricks in our lives. If you feel the pain, stop, back up and get right. It is easier to pull the plow without kicking. The Lord’s yoke is easy if you don’t fight and kick. Enjoy it.
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