Ask for the Holy Spirit!

If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! Luke 11:13 (NIV).

Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is God and the active presence of God on earth. He moved over the face of the waters in Genesis, came upon Moses in the wilderness, inspired the prophets and the apostles, rose Jesus Christ from death just to name a few of His mighty works. The Holy Spirit is the greatest gift God gives people through faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God and Jesus Christ living inside of believers—God's Presence.

The Holy Spirit is a part of the Trinity —God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. When a person sincerely trusts Jesus Christ for salvation, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of him or her and fills that person’s innermost being. The Holy Spirit transforms people from within to become more Christ-like. A believer’s moral conduct and love for God and others proves God’s presence in our lives. The Holy Spirit brings about Christ-like behavior and obedience to God (Galatians 5:22-23). The Holy Spirit living inside believers brings empowerment, direction, and strength to live and serve others according to the teachings and commands of the Holy Bible. Most importantly, the Holy Spirit transforms believers so they are able to live, act, and look more like Jesus Christ and want to become part of God’s plan to build up His church. Simply put, the Holy Spirit within believers helps us please God every day.

Moreover, the Holy Spirit is the presence of God at work in the world. Because the Holy Spirit’s presence, people are made aware of sin and their need for God. Many people are unaware of the Holy Spirit’s presence and activities. However, to believers who receive and love God through Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit gives a whole new way to look at life. The Holy Spirit provides an overwhelming heart peace with God and comfort through prayer. Unlike worldly peace, which is usually defined as the absence of conflict, this peace is confident assurance in any circumstance God is present!

By faith, believers of Jesus Christ can call upon the Holy Spirit’s power each day for daily use and help in any of life’s situation. The Holy Spirit directs a believer’s heart, path and helps a believer choose right from wrong. Also, the Holy Spirit counsels, helps, encourages, and strengthens a believer of Jesus Christ. As the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit teaches believers the truths of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, His physical presence left the earth. The God through Jesus Christ promised to send the Holy Spirit as our Comforter and Advocate to care for, guide, and help His disciples and also to provide instruction, sanctification, and guidance. Jesus Christ kept His promise at Pentecost that continues today. This same God through Jesus—who lived with the disciples, who died and was buried, and who rose from the dead—now lives on the in the hearts of believers to love and be with them always. As promised during His earthly ministry, God through Jesus Christ poured out the Holy Spirit so that His spiritual presence would still be among His people.

During the Old Testament period, the empowering gift of God’s Holy Spirit had previously been given only to select individuals such as Judges, priests, kings, and prophets. With the New Covenant today, the Holy Spirit now comes to live in ALL people, regardless of race, gender, or status, who have sincerely trusted Jesus Christ for their salvation and acknowledged Him as Lord and Savior. In essence, you can receive the Holy Spirit simply through heart faith in Jesus Christ and through asking in prayer for His presence to come live in your heart.

The Holy Spirit begins the Christian experience with God through Jesus Christ. No believer can be united with Jesus Christ, adopted as God’s children, nor become a part of the body of Christ except by baptism in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the power of believers’ lives. He begins the lifetime process of changing believers to become more like Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit works in believers to help us become like Jesus Christ. When we receive Jesus Christ by faith as Lord and Savior, believers begin a personal and intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Moreover, the Holy Spirit unifies the Christian community in Jesus Christ and He can be experienced by all. He works through all people through faith. 

Many people think of the Holy Spirit as being an experience of divine power. The Holy Spirit in both the Old Testament and the New Testament is the core of the experience of new life, strength, and energy and liberation from sin and death. As God, the Holy Spirit brings spiritual refreshment and renewal. The Holy Spirit is the power of God that transforms the individual into the image of God and makes the believer like Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the agent of holiness for the church and its leaders. He keeps the church pure and He promotes holiness in its members.

The Prophet Zechariah calls the Spirit “a spirit of grace and prayer” (Zechariah 12:10-12). In the same way, the Holy Spirit helps believers in our weakness. Often, we do not know what we to pray for, but the Holy Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. All of these benefits of the Holy Spirit are available by simply asking God to fill you with the Holy Spirit once you accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. 

No matter how impure your life is right now, God offers everyone a fresh start through faith in Jesus Christ. Through heart faith in God through Jesus Christ, a person can have his or her sins washed away and receive a new heart and spirit from God. The Holy Spirit has the power to make new people and creates a new life.

The Holy Spirit’s presence is in believers’ lives, not only spiritual and mystical. The Holy Spirit is a powerful Person on our side, working for and around us. He teaches, helps, and guides believers toward all truth. Moreover, the Holy Spirit ministers to both the head and the heart and gives us the power, strength, and ability genuinely to love and to overcome hatred and evil in our world. A believer does not have to wait for a certain feeling or emotion to know that the Holy Spirit has come within. You will know the Holy Spirit has come because Jesus Christ promised He would in John 14 - 16.

A believer’s complete focus and hope must be on trusting God, relying on His Holy Spirit, and loving others. In essence, if people live their lives guided and directed by the Holy Spirit, loving God and others, they are in perfect harmony and obedience with the intent of God’s Law. People who produce and reveal the fruit of the Spirit satisfy the Law of God. At the right time, believers will reap a blessing from God walking in step with the Holy Spirit.

So, yield your life fully to God. Ask God for His Holy Spirit in every area and circumstance of life. Then, live and pray each day by the Holy Spirit.