“So 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. If a son asks for bread[d] from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 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!” - Luke 11:9-13 (NKJV)
Today I came across Luke 11 and read where Jesus was talking to the disciples about some very well-known portions of scripture. I had been here in Luke 11 countless times before and thought, "Yup this the scripture we all go to when we need something....ask and it will be given...Or when we need to hear from God....knock and it'll be opened, Yup I am Super-Christian because I know this, right?" As I arrived to Luke 11:12, I began to slow down and at verse 13 I was stopped dead in my tracks. Jesus said, "How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him," (emphasis mine). As I began to mull that over it was hitting me like a ton of bricks. Then I asked myself the question, "Had I ever asked God in prayer for the Holy Spirit?" I couldn't remember or could pinpoint a time that I specifically asked God for the Holy Spirit.
Now don't get me wrong, I know that God has put his favor and his anointing on me for His service but how had I overlooked this very basic teaching? Recently I have been dealing with some things of my past that just seem to creep up now and then. I don't think much of it, pray, and refocus my thoughts on an encouraging portion of scripture and go about my business. This would generally be the end of it, but lately it has been more and more difficult to do this. After today's revelation I believe that I had been missing a very important key to the battle; The Holy Spirit.
I truly believe that God's grace has been more than sufficient for me and He has shown me ways to combat the tactics of the enemy. However, there are specific, biblical areas in which the Holy Spirit is needed. Some translations call the Holy Spirit our "Helper" and with these elevated attacks on my mind I most definitely was in need of help. I immediately went before God in prayer and began to specifically ask Him to "give me the Holy Spirit" (Luke 11:13) and to have him be the Helper I need (John 14:26). Immediately I felt a peace come over me as well as a confidence that wasn't there before. This confidence was not in myself but was in the fact of knowing that I now had a new secret weapon in Spiritual Arsenal.
Now to all you veteran Christians out there, you may be thinking that this in no way could apply to you but ask yourself the very same question I did, "Have I specifically asked God to give me the Holy Spirit?" You see we all love the "ask-and-you-shall-receive" scripture when we need a job, a promotion, a spouse, healing, but what about when we need something that we didn't realize we needed. Maybe you've hit a patch in life where things just seem to be an uphill battle and attacks are coming left and right, well, have you asked for help from the one called our Helper....have you?
Take Care & God Bless,
-E
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