Name: Holy Spirit
Prayer and Meditation:
“Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.
Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.” Psalm 51:10-12
“The sacrifice You desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O, God.” Psalm 51:17
“. . . It is not by [your] force nor by [your] strength, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” Zechariah 4:6
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Psalm 139:23-24
The passages from Psalm 51 teach us that when we ask Holy Spirit to be with us, He works in us to make us willing to obey God. Verse 17 tells us that the sacrifice God desires from us is a broken spirit - broken from our sinfulness. It is this sacrifice and submission to Holy Spirit that leads us to everlasting life.
Zechariah says the Holy Spirit is the only one who can do this in us. We cannot do it ourselves. Only Holy Spirit cleanses and changes our hearts, so they are no longer hardened. Holy Spirit opens our ears to hear the Word of God and makes us willing, and able, to obey Him. The fire of Holy Spirit transforms us. But He will not do anything against our will. We must ask and allow Holy Spirit to “break” our sinful spirit and baptize us in His fire. We have to surrender to Holy Spirit every day, so that He can transform us.
God uses tribulations to refine us so that each moment and scene of our lives becomes an offering – a living sacrifice in God's Holy Spirit fire. That’s how we are transformed into Godly men and women. It is a privilege to be transformed by Holy Spirit. Our lives become true offerings to Him as we surrender to and obey Holy Spirit.
Prayer: Search me, O God, by Your Holy Spirit and Your Word, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. I am willing, I ask, and I thank You for leading me to repent of my sins and making me willing to obey You, that I may glorify You. In the Name of The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; amen.