THE GIFT OF HOLY SPIRIT
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.” (Luke 11:13, NLT)
The greatest gift the Father wants to give you is the gift of His Spirit. Holy Spirit is the first of the Father's gifts and also the gift that He most wants to give you. Holy Spirit is the gift that we should seek first and seek most.
Holy Spirit is a gift of unspeakable worth. The spirit of a father or of a parent, their essence or their character, is passed along down to their children. Now of course, with earthly parents, the gift of a father's spirit can be negative or it can be a mixed bag of both good and bad character traits. But with God, the gift of His Spirit is an incredible blessing. Holy Spirit is the actual and real presence of God dwelling inside of each follower of Jesus. Through the gift of the Spirit you have access to all of the good character traits of a good and gracious God. By His Spirit, your Father-God begins to deposit His character and His disposition and His values deep down inside of you, His dearly loved child. And so it is impossible to think of any more valuable gift that God could give you than the gift of His own Spirit that lives within you.
Jesus, though he was the Son of God, did not start His ministry on earth until the power of the Spirit had come upon Him (Luke 3:21-22). Luke tells us that the miracles of Jesus were accomplished through the power of the Spirit (Acts 10:38). The Scriptures say that God sent this same Spirit into our own hearts. And by this Spirit we cry out, "Abba Father”. The Spirit joins together with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children (Romans 8:15-16). Andrew Murray said that "the whole life and love of the Father and the Son are in the Spirit and, coming down into us, He lifts us up into their fellowship."
The entire experience of prayer depends on the filling of the Spirit. As we are filled with the Spirit, we are lifted into a deeper fellowship with God. We experience a deeper intimacy with Him. And, even though the answer to our other prayers may be delayed, we are still blessed with the ultimate Answer, the presence of God, manifested through His Spirit. We experience deep friendship and fellowship with God Himself.
This all suggests that the first prayer on our hearts ought not to be a litany of requests, but a simple and sincere prayer for more of Holy Spirit. Every need that you have in your life pales in comparison to this one need: your need for Holy Spirit to come alongside of you and walk with you. If we would yield ourselves entirely to the Spirit, and let Him have His way with us, He would manifest the life of Christ in us. If there is one prayer that we ought to cry out above all others, it is this, "Holy Spirit fill me with your presence. Like streams of living water, flood my soul. Be like a river flowing into me, giving me life. Be like a river, flowing out of me, so that I can bless those around me every day."
The Answer to this prayer would fill our empty soul, and give our lives the sweet aroma of the Presence of Jesus. People would long to be around us. The favor of God would be upon us. The blessing of grace and peace would emanate out of us into our spouse, our children, our parents, our co-workers, our significant friends. The Answer to this one prayer would lead, in an of itself, to the alleviation of our need for many of the other prayers we could think to pray. The Answer to this one prayer, is the ultimate Answer to so many of the other situations in our lives that worry us, that exhaust us, that threaten us, that distract us. "Father, would you give me more of Your Spirit?"
And Jesus tells us, if an earthly Father would give good gifts, how much more does our Heavenly Father long to give us this one good Gift. The Gift of the Holy Spirit. The one ultimate Answer to so many of our other prayers.
What is God saying to me today?
My Prayer List:
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Personal Prayer:
Father God, I come to You today, with a heart that longs for You. There are so many concerns on my heart today. So many needs. So many requests that I could bring. But I stop right now and ask for the one Gift that is above all over gifts that You long to give me. I ask that You would put upon me the wonderful power and presence of Your Spirit. Holy Spirit would You fill me with all of You, and all of Jesus, and all of the Father? Spirit of God, You are the Answer that I seek. Father send me more of Your Spirit today. Amen.