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Prayer – talking openly with God – is one huge key to turning up the volume level on the Holy Spirit.
Jesus talks about prayer many times, including in Matthew 6:5-13:
5 “And now about prayer. When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who pretend piety by praying publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. Truly, that is all the reward they will ever get. 6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, all alone, and shut the door behind you and pray to your Father secretly, and your Father, who knows your secrets, will reward you.
7-8 “Don’t recite the same prayer over and over as the heathen do, who think prayers are answered only by repeating them again and again. Remember, your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!
9 “Pray along these lines: ‘Our Father in heaven, we honor your holy name. 10 We ask that your kingdom will come now. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven. 11 Give us our food again today, as usual, 12 and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. 13 Don’t bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One. Amen.’
Too often, we forget all about Jesus’ teachings on how to pray and either do the “Rub-a-dub-dub-thanks-for-the-grub” routine at meal times or we work our way half-way through a wish list before nodding off to sleep at night.
For me, I’ve found that my best prayer times come when I am alone, focused and alert. Those are the times when I seem most able to express myself more clearly and hear from the Holy Spirit more clearly.
Another misstep many of us make in regards to prayer is merely leaving God mini-voicemails. Instead, we should have an open dialogue with the Lord – being ready to listen as much as we speak.
Also, along with prayer, Hebrews 13 says that we can turn the volume up on the Holy Spirit when we give to others. When we are selflessly generous, it’s very difficult to not feel the Holy Spirit alive in our lives.
Conversely, when we put the brakes on our prayer life and stop reaching out to other people, we practically put earmuffs on our selves when it comes to hearing the promptings and encouragements from the Holy Spirit.