Luke 11:13 – If you then, being evil, 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!

A human father would not give bad gifts; even though he has a sinful nature, he knows how to give good gifts to his children. How much more is your heavenly Father willing to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. “How significant it is that the gift God selects as the one you most need, and the one He most desires to give you, is the Holy Spirit to those who ask.” — J.G. Bellet. When Jesus spoke these words, the Holy Spirit had not yet been given. You do not need to pray for the Holy Spirit to be given to you, because He comes to indwell you at the time of your salvation. However, it is certainly necessary for you to pray for the Holy Spirit in other ways. You must pray that you are teachable by the Holy Spirit, that you will be guided by the Spirit, and that His power will be poured out on you in order to be used for Christ. It is quite possible that when Jesus taught the disciples to ask for the Holy Spirit, He was referring to the power of the Spirit enabling them to live the type of discipleship life which He had been teaching them in the preceding chapters. By this time, they were probably feeling how utterly impossible it was for them to meet the tests of discipleship in their own strength. This is, of course, true. The Holy Spirit is the power that enables you and me to live the Christian life.

Challenge:

Do not neglect the undeniable fact that the Holy Spirit is always with you. Do you regularly acknowledge the Holy Spirit in your life? Does the Spirit have authority over your decisions and choices? Your challenge this week is to ask for the Holy Spirit’s presence to be even stronger in your life than ever before. John the Apostle reminds us that we as believers “have an anointing from the Holy One” (1 John 2:20) this anointing is the Holy Spirit. May that anointing enable you to speak truth to someone who is believing a lie. Let the Spirit give you peace even when everything around you is falling apart and seemingly impossible to endure. By the Spirit allow all of your thoughts, hopes and dreams to become realities to the glory of God. Let God bless you the way He desires to bless you. Too often, believers allow their current circumstances to dictate their behavior and actions without ever calling out to God and asking Him to reveal to them how they should respond to their immediate situation. This basically removes the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives to assist them in overcoming every obstacle that the enemy places in their path. This week, seek the Spirit, talk to the Spirit, and ask the Spirit to give your strength, and He will. God bless.