We are continuing our study of the Holy Spirit’s impact in our lives to strengthen our relationship with Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 3:16 – Amplified Classic Bible – May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality].
One of things that the Holy Spirit does is to strengthen us, not in our own strength or power, but with His mighty power. How often have we felt weak, struggling through a tough week whether it is work related, going through a crisis or just life in general?
As many of us know, life itself can throw many challenges at us at times and can wear you down. The good news is that God is always there to help as He has stated in His Word:
Psalms 46:1 – Amplified Classic Bible – God is our Refuge and Strength [mighty and impenetrable to temptation], a very present and well-proved help in trouble.
But how does He do this? While there are many times God sends people into our lives to help get us through some tough times, He also strengthens us with inner strength by His Spirit who dwells on the inside of every true believer. There is a certain grace that comes when we learn to lean on the Lord for strength. The Bible puts it plainly when it says the following:
Romans 8:26 – NLT – And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.
The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness and, as Paul continues giving us an example, even helping us when we come to pray. Have you ever gone to God in prayer and just couldn’t seem to get in sync with it and didn’t know what to pray for, or even how to begin praying? Well, the Holy Spirit helps you with this. As you quiet your soul and ask the Lord to help you to pray, the Holy Spirit will then begin to inspire you from within, placing people or situations on your heart to pray for. And if there are things that you need to pray into, but are feeling kind of spiritually “dry” and uninspired, God can give you the grace to do it by faith through His Spirit.
There have been many times when I have come to prayer and my thoughts are just “scattered” all over the place. But as I began to quiet my soul (which is my mind, will and emotions), wait on the Lord and not be in a rush and ask Him to help me by His Spirit, I find that He is faithful to do just that. After a while, the grace and strength to begin to pray decisive, targeted prayers kicks in and when finished, sense a peace in my heart that something has been accomplished through my prayers and that I didn’t just go through an empty “ritual”.
When a car runs out of gas, it must be filled again in order for it to have some movement. No gas (for gas driven cars), no momentum from that car to drive to the places you need to go. The Bible tells us to be “filled” with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). As Christians, we must endeavor to stay filled with God’s Spirit so that we can not only be strengthened, but have His joy, peace and love flow through our lives and keep spiritual momentum and movement in our lives. We need to stay filled with the Spirit. This is how we “gas up” our spiritual tank (LOL!)
There is so much more to what the Holy Spirit does in our lives. I encourage you to read through the Scriptures to learn more about the One who has come to take up residence within you. And remember, the Holy Spirit is with us to glorify Jesus (John 16:14) to bring all that Jesus taught to our remembrance (John 14:26) and to lead us into all truth (John 16:13). Remember, Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and no man comes to the Father God but by Him (John 14:6). So, keep in mind that the Holy Spirit will always point you to Jesus Christ. He is the center of it all!
God Bless!
