Good Morning Holy Spirit
Chapter 7: Wind for Your Sails
1. Describe in your own words what a Spirit-filled life is.
A Spirit-filled life is life full of the Joy of the Lord, love, forgiveness, humility, and complete surrender to God. The Spirit-filled life is a life of power through the inner-working of Holy Spirit.
2. What are the four main functions of the Holy Spirit when He is working in our lives?
The Holy Spirit working in our lives can be seen in multiple ways, but a few of the tell tell signs are these...
- Your speech and focus will change, no longer does the world revolve around you, your wants, your needs, your desires...You start focusing in God, - instead of self-centered, we become God-centered.
- A new song...When we are filled with the Spirit, we receive a new song in our heart...a song of joy, praise, deliverance!!
- A thankful heart! When the Spirit dwells within you, in all things, good and bad, you will find yourself thankful!
- A servant heart - just as your focus is no longer on yourself, your heart will now long and desire to love other people through serving, and helping.
3. What is the author's answer to people who ask him, "Am I filled with the Holy Spirit?"
If you don't know, then you're not!
4. At what point does the Holy Spirit become available to us personally?
When we accept the gift of salvation.
5. Have you found it difficult, or impossible, to surrender yourself to the Lord? Try to pinpoint what is holding you beck?
At times I have found myself wrestling with the Lord, and most of the time it is when I come up with my plan and I expect God to make it happen. The Holy Spirit has spoken to me on this, and it always come back to whether or not I trust Him. It seems to me that I finally surrender one part of my life and think I have made progress only to turn around and realize there is a different part that needs surrendered. It is an ongoing thing, that all of us deal with, that is why Paul describes it as surrendering your life as a living sacrifice. A living sacrifice can get up off of the altar...so we have to daily and even multiple times a day surrender again and place our life back on the table, so that it is Jesus living in us.
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,who loved me and gave Himself for me."
6. Write down the seven steps to meaningful prayer on a little piece of paper. Carry it with you and refer to it when you pray. Try to include all seven steps until they become automatic.
I am going to sit down and write these steps out, and I encourage you to do so as well. Just a quick glance at my prayer life, I can see all of these steps at this time or that time, but not necessarily all at one time. This is definitely something I want to work on.
7. If your prayers incorporate the seven steps, what is likely to come about in your prayer life?
When we incorporate all seven steps in our prayer lives, we will find that when we pray, the Spirit intercedes for us, and we really aren't doing most the prayer...it is the Spirit praying for us, which means our prayers are filled with more power and authority.
