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In our last podcast, I talked about God’s commandment to grow closer to Him and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This week, we’re going to look at what the Bible says we should do in order to live in a spiritually healthy manner. Just like breathing, we need to “exhale” or get rid of all the things that might hinder us; and “inhale” or bring in the things that God has for us to draw us closer to Him.
1 John 5:14-15 says this:
This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.
These two verses promise that it is possible for us to live right smack dab in the center of God’s will for us. It’s a conditional promise that IF we ask ANYTHING according to His will, God promises that He will hear us.
Have you ever been praying and felt as if your words weren’t getting through to Him? Well, the Bible says that He wants our prayers to get through to Him – He wants to be in constant communication with us – but we need to be willing to surrender our hearts, minds, and desires to the things that He wants for us (which is always what is for the best).
So, we see it’s a very simple order: When we take care of any sin we may have in our lives through confession and repentance, we can be a person filled with God’s Spirit. Then, as we ask God to fill us with the Holy Spirit, He will hear us and answer our prayers.
Most times, if we pray and pray and it seems as if He isn’t even hearing us, it’s often because we don’t have the confidence that what we are pleading for is actually His will for our lives. However, in this case – regarding the Holy Spirit – we can be absolutely assured that it is God’s will that we each would be filled with the Spirit because He commanded it of us.
So, I encourage you – take some time and get away somewhere and just have a quiet time with God. Ask Him to show you if there is anything in your life that might be quenching the Holy Spirit. He knows (even better than you) what is going on in your heart, mind and motives. And anything that doesn’t honor God will quench Him and grieve Him.
Once you ask God to reveal any sin that might be in your life, HOLD ON. Think about it – you just asked Him to do something that is absolutely according to His will for you. You did exactly what He desires, and He will answer your prayer. He wants to reveal to you and communicate with you about issues in your life that are not pleasing to Him. But, when you come to terms with your sin and confess it to Him, He will forgive you. Right there on the spot.
He promises to forgive you, cleanse you, and fill you with His Spirit and His power!