Thinking back to earlier this month, when I got the topic memo, my initial thought was, “Oh no.” The second thought was, “What a shame. I don’t know the Holy Spirit.” As I began to devote, I did my small bit of research and everything slowly began to come back to me.
Think back to elementary school for a second. (You’ve had to have made it past that to be reading this far!) Now think about all your little friends, and their little faces. Now I don’t know about you, but I really can’t remember those faces to well. But imagine if someone you knew back then came back into your life, and automatically you remembered! Okay well that’s how the Holy Spirit just came back into my life.
I think back on my Christian walk and remember how tight the Holy Spirit and I use to be, and I can’t remember where we lost one another. I want to illustrate for you how powerful a force and righteous you can be with the Holy Spirit on your side.
Now, I’m not real sure how often you go to church, but for those who do go regularly, you know that every once in a while (sometimes even after every service), there’s this thing that the church folk call an “altar call”. That’s the time near the end of church when the Holy Spirit plays a game called “Guilty Conscience” with you, making you think back over the wrong things you’ve done since the last time you went up for prayer. You know you need to, but you either are too embarrassed to, or you don’t want to look like you just go up there every week. Think about it like this though. Honestly, if it’s so bad that someone sees you going up there every week, they’re in the wrong for not offering you prayer or a helping hand. It’s hard struggling alone.
The point is, you’re not the only one going through it. Aside from all this though, (this is a message for the winners) you know that feeling – that cleanliness – you feel after you’ve gone up and received prayer. I believe that’s what it feels like to be spirit filled!
The mistake I make, time after time, (and I’m sure I’m not the only one) is that I rely on the feeling – not the Spirit. The moment I mess up, I feel the feeling go away, and it’s back to the old me, not caring, and dreading next Sunday when I’ll have to go back up to the altar for more prayer. It doesn’t have to be that way though!
Try this! (Don’t even wait for the next altar call to get this going either! Do it now if you have to.) Ask God to fill you with his Holy Spirit. From there, discipline yourself to do the right thing. (I find it a lot easier to do so, when I know and feel I’ve got a Coach [the Holy Spirit] that’s got my back.) If/When you fall, pray asking the Holy Spirit to lead you and lean on that feeling of cleanliness that’s close to you, and allow that to help you do the right thing.
The other thing I wanted to get in to was how you pray, and I know if you’re like me, you probably need a break. I can completely understand that. That’s why I’ve made a Part Two of this devotional, about being filled with the Spirit. So go on and relax your brain, and come back for more when you’re ready. I highly encourage you to do so. I’d just appreciate it if you did anyway!
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