WHY SHOULD WE ASK FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT?

AFTERALL, WE RECEIVED HIM AT OUR BAPTISM.

IS THERE A PROBLEM HERE?

On the one hand:

Jesus said in John 14:17 NKJV,

“For He [the Holy Spirit] dwells with you and will be in you.”

Acts 2:38 NKJV says:

“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized ... and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

On the other hand:

When Jesus taught about prayer, He said in Luke 11:9-13 (NKJV),

“... ask, and it will be given to you; ... how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

Ephesians 5:18 says,

“... be filled with the Spirit.”

In both hands the original Greek text points to a continual request.

SOLUTION

Ellen G. White says,

“Yet the operations of the Spirit are always in harmony with the written word. As in the natural, so in the spiritual world. The natural life is preserved moment by moment by divine power; yet it is not sustained by a direct miracle, but through the use of blessings placed within our reach. So the spiritual life is sustained by the use of those means that Providence has supplied. If the follower of Christ would grow up ‘unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ’ (Eph 4:13), he must eat of the bread of life and drink of the water of salvation. He must watch and pray and work, in all things giving heed to the instructions of God in His word.” Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p.284

Here are some important things for us to pay attention from this beautiful quote,

[1] Eat of the Bread of Life

[2] Drink of the water of salvation

[3] Watch and pray and work

ABIDE IN ME

We received life at our birth. In order to sustain this life we have to eat, drink, exercise, etc. It is exactly the same in our spiritual life. We have the Holy Spirit through our baptism by water and the Spirit (we were ‘born again’) so that this spiritual life remains in us our whole life. In order to sustain this spiritual life it is necessary to use the spiritual means that God provided: the Holy Spirit, God’s Word, prayer, our testimony, etc.

As Jesus told us in John 15:4,

“Abide in me, and I in you.”

Ellen G. White explains what is to abide in Christ,

“Abiding in Christ means a constant receiving of His Spirit, a life of unreserved surrender to His service.” Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p.676

That is why we need to daily ask for the Holy Spirit by faith and surrender ourselves to the Lord every morning with everything we have and are.

QUESTIONS FOR MEDITATION & DEVOTION

1. If we did receive the Holy Spirit through the baptism, why do we need to keep asking?

2. What can we understand about the spiritual world from the natural?

3. What is to abide in Christ?