Calling on the Holy Spirit

Do you ever ask the Holy Spirit to help you? I know that may be a strange question, but it’s one that I was thinking about one morning as I was lying in bed. I was looking at a story in my Youversion app and it was teaching about relying on the Holy Spirit. After reading the lesson and thinking about it some more, I realized that I often neglect to specifically seek the Holy Spirit’s help in my everyday life. The Holy Spirit is a unique “person”, sent to us to be a helper. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). The word helper comes from the Greek word, parakletos

which is translated as an advocate and more clearly explained as a counselor. We must remember that the Holy Spirit is one part of a trinity-- it is one with Jesus and one with God. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is holy, all knowing and all powerful. You may not know this but the Holy Spirit is the author of the scriptures! The bible says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God. …” (2 Timothy 3:16). Therefore the authors of the books in the bible were carrying out the words that the Holy Spirit breathed out and as believers we have the Holy Spirit residing inside us. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not on your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

So what does this mean for you and me? Well, when we need advice, which I don’t know about you but I need it all the time—we can ask the Holy Spirit to help us figure things out. If we are trying to make a decision, we can ask for help figuring out the pros and cons. If we are confused, we can ask the Holy Spirit to show us the truth of the situation and help us understand God’s will more clearly. If we are looking for something we have lost or misplaced, we can ask the Spirit to show us where it is. This happened to me just the other day. I needed to find an important document in order to set up an account at a bank. I knew that I put the document in a safe place but when I looked there, it wasn’t anywhere to be found. This led me on a hunt in all the places I may have moved it in order for it not to get lost! Ironic, but this is my life! I was growing extremely frustrated because I knew that I would never have thrown it away but I couldn’t imagine where else it could be. So, I decided to apply the lesson I had learned about in my bible study. I said, “Holy Spirit, I need you. I need this document and I need your help to show me where it is.” I kept looking and as I was going through a drawer I had already checked twice, I saw a picture in my mind of me handing the document to my husband and asking him to put it in our keepsake box at the top of our closet. So, as soon as he came home, I asked him to get the box down and sure enough, it was right near the top of the box! What a relief it was! Plus, it showed me very clearly, that calling on the Holy Spirit can help us in a very practical way, such as finding something we have lost or it can help us to know the right choice to make in a much more important moment as well. Listening for the Holy Spirit allows us to hear God’s voice inside ourselves and it can make a meaningful difference in our everyday lives if we make it a habit. I’m encouraging you friends to call on the Holy Spirit anytime you need help. The promises of God are real and the Holy Spirit is inside you, waiting to get to work!