Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today, we’ll close out this week of love for the Holy Spirit, by finding out how to get Him.

In today’s scripture, Luke 11:9-13 (NLT), Jesus said…
“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

Consider…
I am used to hearing today’s scripture being taught to encourage persistent prayer. However, upon further review, Jesus also taught what or who should be prayed for.

When we understand Jesus’ explanation of what our prayer request should be, we learn how to apply the popular, yet misused, ‘Ask, Seek, Knock’ principle of prayer. What Jesus was really teaching His followers is to be persistent in pursuing the presence of the Holy Spirit. He was saying…

• Ask for the Holy Spirit
• Seek the Holy Spirit
• Knock on Heavens door to connect with the Holy Spirit

I arrived at this conclusion based on Jesus’ closing, yet also misunderstood words, which Matthew 7:11 (NLT) transcribed as…
So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

Based on Matthew’s account of Jesus’ teaching, people should pursue gifts from the Heavenly Father. Although it seems like the two Gospel writers have conflicting interpretations of the same lesson, they’re really very much aligned.

The Apostle Paul connects both Luke and Matthew’s transcriptions of Jesus’ teaching on what and who we should pray for. In 1 Corinthians 12:4 (NLT) the Apostle wrote…
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all.

Matthew’s take away from Jesus’ lesson was to ASK for God’s spiritual gifts, whereas Luke took away, we should ASK for the source of God’s gifts, the Holy Spirit.

This scriptural collaboration provides a useful lesson, and example, to always use scripture to explain or understand scripture.

Continuing Jesus’ lesson on having spiritually focused prayers, reminds me of His admonishment given before teaching us how to pray in Matthew 6. He said in Matthew 6:7‭-‬8 (NLT)…
“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!

In this admonition, I believe Jesus is saying don’t keep begging God over and over to supply your physical needs. That’s because God’s already got you on those. Think about it, you don’t have to ask God to…

• Tell your brain to think
• Tell your heart to beat
• Tell your lungs to breathe
• Tell your eyes to open
• Tell your ears to hear
• Tell your nose to smell
• Tell your tongue to taste
• Tell your hands to feel

Like Jesus said, the God who made you, knows, and provides everything you need to operate physically. However, operating spiritually is a decision we have to make, and in order to operate properly in the spirit, we need to have the Holy Spirit. Thus, why Luke said…

• Ask for the Holy Spirit
• Seek the Holy Spirit
• Knock on Heaven’s door to connect with the Holy Spirit

Speaking of knocking on Heaven’s door, asking, and seeking, let’s take a closer look at how Jesus told us to begin our prayers…

• Matthew 6:9 knocks by saying, “Our Father in heaven”
• It then transitions to asking for spiritual focus by saying, “may your name be kept holy.”
• In the next verse, we see what seeking looks like. We’re taught our request should be “May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”

In today’s scripture, Luke is saying we should, Ask our Heavenly Father for the Holy Spirit, to help us Seek to keep the Father’s name Holy, and do His will here on earth. He says the requested connection is initiated by Knocking on the Father’s door in Heaven.

Let’s apply Luke’s version of Jesus’ teaching to a couple more verses…

• Psalms 37:4 (NLT) says, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.” If you ASK the Father for the Holy Spirit, you’re telling God you find His continual presence in your heart delightful.
• In Matthew 6:33 (NLT), Jesus said, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” When we ASK our Heavenly Father for the Holy Spirit, we’re saying that we want to Seek God’s Kingdom and righteous living more than anything. And, we know that we need the Holy Spirit to do so.

Writing this runs my mind to Ephesians 4:21‭-‬24 (NLT), which exhorts…
Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

Today’s encouragement is simply this, if you…

• ASK your Heavenly Father for the Holy Spirit
• SEEK the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and guidance wholeheartedly
• And persistently KNOCK on Heaven’s door to ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance in all you do…
  Your Father in Heaven will answer with an emphatic yes, and you will be empowered to live right more, and sin less.

ASK for the Holy Spirit, and receive the amazing gifts He brings, which will empower you to live righteously for the King of kings.

Today’s song is…
Spirit Fall Down

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)