Engaging /interacting with the Holy Spirit John 3:8, Gen 28:16
- Holy Spirit is a spiritual personality that you can interact with just like you do with physical friends.
- For you to enjoy the friendship of the Holy Spirit, you have to deliberately interact with Him like you do with your friends.
Important things to note:
a) You must be aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit in order to engage Him. You need to spend quality time with the Holy Spirit.
b) You should expect Holy Spirit’s response to your interactions with Him
*His presence is always there, but you need to stir it up
How to engage/interact with the Holy Spirit
1) Engage/interact with God’s word: Read, and most importantly meditate on the word and do what it says.
a) The word is Spirit and life Jn 6:63
b) The word has the ability to interact with your spirit and reveal to you the things of God Heb 4:12, 1Cor 2:9-12
E.g: The Holy Spirit came upon Cornelius and his household while they listened to God’s word through Peter Acts 10:44-45
2) Pray abundantly (especially in the Spirit): Praying is not just to request from God, it is also for fellowshipping and interacting with the Holy Spirit.
Jude 1:20 It builds you up in the spirit and makes your spirit sensitive to receive from the Holy Spirit.
3) Eph 6:18: “……all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…i.e intentionally praying in order to, and until you are tuned to the Holy Spirit and attentive enough to hear him.
e.g Peter’s vision while praying on the roof Acts 10:9-13; apostles’ prayer for boldness after been threatened. Acts 4:18,31
4) Quality and continuous worship
Praying always draws us close to God, worship draws God close to us
Eph 5:18-20 Worship attracts the presence and manifestation of the Holy Spirit to a worshipper e.g Paul and Silas in prison Acts 16:24-26
Disciples in Antioch Acts 13:2
Remember to do the above with awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit, spend more time with the word, in prayer and in worship and expect the Holy Spirit to respond as well.
Q&A
Prayer circle: Take turns to pray for each member of the family asking for the help of the Holy Spirit to develop any of the interactive channels discussed that they may be struggling with (may be inconsistency in studying/meditating on the word, inability to pray or worship effectively).
The Holy Spirit and You-Part 1
The Holy Spirit and You Jn 14:16
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity. He was first mentioned before creation Gen1:2
Holy Spirit in the old testament:
The Holy Spirit was mentioned several times in the old testament.
Activity one: Can you try to list some instances where the Holy Spirit manifested in the lives of some people in the old testament? See some answers below:
- The 70 elders Num 11:24-27
- Gideon Judg 6:34
- Samson Judg 13:25
Holy Spirit in the new testament:
In the new testament, Jesus promised that he will send to believers the Holy Spirit Jn 15:26. The Holy Spirit will be with us forever as opposed to the occasional experience some people had in the old testament Jn 14:16
The ministry of the Holy Spirit:
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever. Jn 14: 16 (Amplified version).
Activity two: Can you share with one another instances where the Holy Spirit has been a Helper, Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counselor, Strengthener or Standby to you and/or your family.
What do you need to do to develop intimacy with the Holy Spirit?
- Know the Holy Spirit-You can learn about the Holy Spirit and his ministry by studying the Acts of the Apostles.
- Be conscious of the person of the Holy Spirit and his ministry as discussed above.
For instance, acknowledge his role as your helper by asking the Holy Spirit to give you understanding of the word before you read your bible and bible resources like bible story books, Christian literature, bible app etc.
Ask the Holy Sprit to help you to pray for he knows the heart of the Father 1Cor 2:11
3. Invest more time interacting with the Holy Spirit whether in word, worship or prayer. You know he is present with you, but are you speaking to him and expecting response?
Prayer: Father, we pray for a deeper encounter with the Holy Spirit in Jesus name. Amen.
Raising Godly Children 
I have been blessed by the series ‘HolySpirit and you’. As a family, each one of us is more intentional about consciously interacting with the Holy Spirit as a person when we pray, read the bible or even in other day-day activities.
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