Jan 13
MATTHEW 7:11
“SO IF YOU SINFUL PEOPLE 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.”
When a person receives Jesus into their heart, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in their lives (Ephesians 1:13-14, Romans 8:9,16-17). Therefore, if you are a Christian, you already have the Holy Spirit within you!The Holy Spirit is a guarantee that seals the security and confidence that Jesus has saved us. Why then is it that Jesus told the disciples (whom I’m pretty sure were born-again believers) to wait for the Holy Spirit to come (Luke 24:29, Acts 1:8)? In addition, the authors of the New Testament repeatedly encouraged the believers to be “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18) and spoke of certain disciples being “filled” or “full of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 4:8,31; 13:4).
This is all because, despite having already received the Holy Spirit upon accepting Jesus, we need and get to have both an initial and a continual welcoming, filling, and dependence on the Holy Spirit.
Without the Holy Spirit and continual reliance on Him, we will be left powerless. Even Jesus was dependent on the Holy Spirit (look at His conception, His teachings, and the fact that He didn’t even do one miracle until He was baptized with the Spirit). You can also see a difference in power and boldness from the church in the first chapter of Acts to the second, all because they encountered the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said that the Holy Spirit was to be our “Helper” (John 14:16, 14:26), so when we welcome Him and ask for His help, He fills us so that we can take on His nature and power (1 Corinthians 6:11, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Galatians 5:22-23), He directs us (Acts 8:29, 13:4, 16:6-7, 20:23), and He unleashes His gifts within us(1 Cor 12:4-11).
I remember when I first became curious about the Holy Spirit while studying the book of Acts. That curiosity grew into a hunger that led to continued seasons of explosive growth and even greater healing in my life. Our heavenly Father is ready to give us the Holy Spirit when we ask, so as we welcome Him and ask for His help in this season of prayer, let it be a non-stop receiving – prayer to prayer, moment to moment, season to season – of being filled!
Prayer:
“Thank you God for the gift of the Holy Spirit. I welcome You during this time and season of prayer. I ask that You would fill me, clothe me with Your power, direct my life and path, activate the gifts of Your Spirit within me, and teach me to pray.”
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