Come Holy Spirit

For two long years, I stood on the prayer lines at Bethel Church and waited for a personal encounter with God, but nothing happened. People cried, laughed, and experienced breakthrough while I watched on the sides, unaffected.

During that time, I wondered why everyone but me was experiencing the presence of God. Was it something I was doing? Or was the Lord trying to teach me something?

I continued to pray and ask God for revelation in this season, but it took nearly two years before I heard the voice of the Lord for myself.

It turns out that God was teaching me something — that He speaks to us in different ways. Some of us hear an obvious, audible voice. Others encounter a still, small whisper.

Regardless of how we hear the Lord, we should live in complete surrender to the Holy Spirit. If we don’t, then we miss out on what Christ paid for us: “abundant life.”

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7 ESV).

Truth is we can’t do anything without the Holy Spirit. As our Helper, He shows us what to do, guides us in all truth, and equips us for victory in all stages of our lives. I open all my sermons with this simple request, “Come, Holy Spirit.”

It reminds me that I am always to engage with what the Lord is doing. No matter how successful I become, I am still nothing without His presence.