Holy Spirit

Prayer of Praise About the Work of the Holy Spirit in the Life of a Born Again Believer in Jesus Christ

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Photo taken in Florida.

Author: Elton Streyle, Contributor: Noah, Photography and Editing: Ali

Heavenly Father, in Jesus’ Name, thank you for the work of the Holy Spirit in my Christian life. It is a great blessing to know from Your Word (The Bible) that the Holy Spirit is living within me and not somewhere in space. 1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?“

Thank you that You express in a number of places in Your Word that if I ask and allow it, You will have the Holy Spirit be my comforter and helper in all situations in this life. He will speak words of comfort and still ​my anxiousness. He never makes a mistake and always gives the wisest council. In John 14:16, Jesus said: “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.“

In this day of so much false teaching and fake news, thank you that I can trust in the work of the Holy Spirit to be true. He will not speak on His own initiative but will guide in the truth about Jesus Christ. All that is written down in the Bible and that I am blessed to read came from Him through the authors of the Scriptures. John 16:13-14 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.“

In light of all of the above, I ask that You direct me not to live by instinctive actions, but by being obedient to Your instruction in Your Word. It is my desire not to do Ephesians 4:30. “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.“

In Jesus’ Name, knowing that in my life will encounter many things I cannot handle, I give myself to You and ask You to fill and control me with the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18b “But be filled with the Spirit.” Amen.

Prayer by Using the Sword of the Spirit

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thumbnail_IMG_6528Author: Elton Streyle, Contributor: Noah, Photography and Editing: Ali

All wise and powerful Heavenly Father, I come in the Name of Jesus to thank You for the blessing of the Sword of the Spirt (Your Word, the Bible). Ephesians 6:17 “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

What an incredible, powerful gift You have given me to defend myself from the attacks of the evil one. Just like Jesus used the Scriptures to refute the devil’s lies and twisted truth in the wilderness, teach me to quote and obey Bible verses as an important tool in resisting his attacks. Jesus said in Mathew 4:4, “it is written, ‘man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'”

It is a wonderful blessing, and I praise You for it, that Your Word brings truth into my life. That I can trust it as a firm foundation on which to build my life. Every word in the Bible is inspired by You, and is trustworthy and profitable for instruction in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”

Thank you for all that You have shared about how Your Word is a protection against false teaching and a guide to how I should live. In light of all Your advice, direct me to store up Your Word in my mind and heart and hide Your truth in the depths of my soul. I come with a grateful heart for the wisdom in Your Scriptures. Amen.

Prayer About the Work of the Indwelling Holy Spirit

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Photo taken in Kansas.

Author: Elton Streyle, Contributor: Noah, Photography and Editing: Ali

Heavenly Father, I come to You through the Name of my Savior Jesus Christ with a thankful heart for You having the Holy Spirt of God dwell within me. This blessing happened at the time I put my faith in Jesus as my Savior. 1 Corinthians 6:19 “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”

I acknowledge my dependence on You and that apart from You, there is nothing good. You are the source of all righteousness. 2 Corinthians 3:5 “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.” Teach me to let go of my own strength and to recognize that You want to be my comforter and guide me into all truth through the Holy Spirit. By obeying You and Your guidance, I can thwart the constant negative power of the flesh ​that is still living within me.

It is a beautiful privilege to have Your Holy Spirit lift me up in my times of weakness and distress. In those times when I can’t find the right words to say, I can share my heart with You and You will intercede and straighten out my prayer. Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

In Jesus’ Name, I ask You to daily direct me to yield myself to the Holy Spirit for full control over all parts of my life. Ephesians 5:18b “Be filled with the Spirit.” Amen.

Prayer for Yielding to the Holy Spirit

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Author: Elton Streyle, Scripture selection: Eugene Sandin, Contributor: Noah, Graphic design and editing: Ali

The purpose of this prayer variation is to allow the believer’s new nature in the Holy Spirit to take control of the old nature in the flesh. The Holy Spirit enters the believer at the time of salvation and never leaves. It is the Spirit’s desire to maintain our relationship with God. “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Galatians 5:25

The Holy Spirit can be grieved by the sin of the old nature if a believer does not allow the Holy Spirit to control him through His power. “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30

The white arrows in the chart represent the level of control the Holy Spirit has in the  different areas of a believer’s life. The white to black gradient rectangles represent the holiness of God and the sin of our old nature respectively. The white arrows, representing the Holy Spirit, reach from the holiness of God into the sin of our old natures to purify and sanctify us in all areas of life. For example, the chart shows that the believer has allowed the Holy Spirit great control over their appetite for food, but has not given the Holy Spirit much control over their money.

This chart is only an example of what a believer’s level of Spirit-control can look like in different areas. The level of control the Holy Spirit has in each area will differ for every believer.

Determine where you are on a scale from 1-10, 1 being low Holy Spirit control and 10 being high Holy Spirit control, by thinking through how much control you have allowed the Holy Spirit over your marriage or dating relationship, work/career, habits, leisure, sex drive, other bodily needs, thought life, entertainment/recreation, children, money, education and appetite for food.

Continually ask God to encourage you to allow the Holy Spirit more control over the areas you struggle with. Emphasize one area each day by reading the Scripture and then yielding all of that part of your life to the Holy Spirit.

Print this page and do this exercise as part of your daily devotion time.

Read the Scripture that goes with each heading and the verses before and after the Scripture indicated for context.

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1. Marriage/Dating

  • 1 Corinthians 7:1-3 “It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband.“
  • Genesis 2:24 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.“

2. Work/Career

  • Colossians 3:22-23 “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only where their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” (NIV)
  • 1 Timothy 6:7 “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.“

3. Habits

  • 1 Corinthians 6:12 “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.“
  • Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.“

4. Leisure/Time

  • Ephesians 5:15-16 “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,  redeeming the time, because the days are evil.“
  • Colossians 4:5 “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.“

5. Sexuality

  • 1 Corinthians 6:18 “Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.“ 
  • Matthew 5:28 “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.“
  • 1 Corinthians 7:3-4 “The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife.“ (NIV)

6. Other Needs

  • Philippians 4:19 “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.“
  • 2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.'”

7. Thought Life

  • 2 Corinthians 10:5 “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.“
  • Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.“
  • Colossians 3:2 “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (NIV)

8. Entertainment/Recreation

  • Psalm 101:3 “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me.“
  • Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
  • 1 Corinthians 10:23 “‘I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive.” (NIV)

9. Children

  • Ephesians 6:4 “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.“
  • 1 Timothy 5:8 ‘”But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.“‘

10. Money

  • Matthew 6:20-21 “ But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (KJV)
  •  1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (KJV)

11. Contentment

  • Hebrews 13:5 “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”‘
  • Philippians 4:11 “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.“‘

12. Appetite for Food

  • John 6:27 “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.“
  • Matthew 4:4 “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.“‘

The Lord bless you as you complete this prayer exercise. This prayer method can be used on a continuing basis.