The Holy Spirit in Our Lives is Associated with Prayer

Tip! He didn't say we would see the manifestation of our prayers immediately. We need to give God time to work things out, continue in our faith, and not doubt, 'For a man who wavers is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed.

And I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened . . . your heavenly Father [will] give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! (Luke 11:9-10, Luke 11:13)

Here again we find that the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is associated with prayer. Prayer is that wonderful God-ordained means of relating to the Lord in humility and faith (the two means by which we have access to grace). In praying, we are humbly admitting that we need God. In praying, we are exercising faith toward God that He will act on our behalf. We pray; God moves by His Spirit, pouring out whatever grace is necessary for any given situation in our lives.

Remember "That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith . . . that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:16-19). Here, prayer was the avenue to being filled with the bountiful work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We humbly ask; the Lord faithfully works. This is precisely the teaching of Jesus in our present passage.

The end of Jesus' message involves the Spirit being given to those who ask. "How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" This is also where our scripture began. "And I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." These are three parallel commands, followed by three parallel promises.

Who are the people that receive the Holy Spirit fullness? Those who ask God for Him are the ones who experience the life-empowering work of the Holy Spirit that every child of God must find. Those who seek God to pass on His Holy Spirit are flooded with the outpouring of God's Spirit. And those who knock prayerfully on heaven's doors will be the ones who receive.

Then, making these three "command-promise", Jesus adds three more statements of certainty. "…For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." These are absolutes. There are no exceptions. Those of us who genuinely ask, seek, and knock can go on our way by faith, knowing that the Lord will be doing a thorough work of His Holy Spirit in them.

Tip! Talking to God – This is the one on one type prayer – where we converse with God to develop our relationship with him. We may ask him to help us in areas that we need spiritual, physical or emotional support.

As with the earlier command to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), these imperatives are also in the present tense. They could be rendered: keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking. Again, this is the way to live because it is not a singular event.

Prayer:

Our Father the Giver of every good and perfect gift, I humbly ask You for a fresh new work of Your Spirit. Lord, I rest on Your promise that everyone who asks receives. Manifest Your fullness in me in any way that You desire, in Jesus name, Amen.