How to Know the Holy SpiritSample

Seeing the Holy Spirit as being a person is the only way you can have a friendship with Him. Intimacy with Him begins when we realize He is a person. You cannot limit Him to being just an emblem of fire, a dove, tongues, oil, or even as experiences such as shaking and crying. The Holy Spirit is not limited in manifesting himself in those ways, but He is first and foremost a person who desires to be your friend.

Speaking in tongues is a wonderful gift, but it is a personification of the Holy Spirit and not Him in His entirety. You can speak in tongues and still live in sin or be indifferent to the Holy Spirit by not walking in Him. We sometimes have a hard time defining the Holy Spirit because He is without form and has no body. That is because He chooses to live in you and use you as His physical temple. The Holy Spirit is no less a person because He doesn't have a specific body like Jesus.

The access we have to the Holy Spirit is seen through conversation with Him, instruction, guidance, correction, conviction, and fellowship. When you talk to Him, you will begin to feel a sense of security and identity with the Father.

In marriage, spouses desire intimacy with each other. Providing money, homemaking, and security are great things to contribute to a marriage, but the one thing that makes it grow stronger is intimacy. The same is with the Holy Spirit. Time spent, attention, and affection is essential in cultivating communion with Him. Like in a marriage, spouses desire to be wanted and pursued. It is a two-way transaction. The Holy Spirit desires our presence more than we could ever desire His.

Today's challenge

Make it your goal to pause and acknowledge the Holy Spirit. Give Him the attention He deserves. While you are driving, cooking, cleaning, commuting, or just sitting it's important to give the Holy Spirit time out of your day. People may think that prayer and conversation with Jesus and the Holy Spirit wastes time, but on the contrary, it saves time. It is a benefit to you in your present time and in your future.