The Silent Sovereign: Grieve not the Spirit

by David Chadwick

Live by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16). Be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Be led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14). Pray in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18).

Finally, grieve not the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). Or as 1 Thessalonians 5:19 says, “Do not quench the Spirit.”

I find today’s exhortation to be the pinnacle point of a life that is full of the Holy Spirit because it forces all of us to yield to a power bigger than ourselves. It demands that we take God out of the boxes in which we place him.

In order to live a life that does not quench or grieve the Spirit, we must remain pliable, malleable, humble, open to change, willing to both repent and surrender. Without these characteristics, we risk putting ourselves in the all-knowing, all-powerful position that only God is intended to have.

If the Spirit of God is living inside of our hearts and if we are one with Christ, then we must give ourselves fully to his ways. If we choose to live in a way that is contrary to his holiness and his will, he lives in us so we will automatically grieve him.

The Holy Spirit is a person. He is our friend. And we can hurt his heart. Even make him cry. When you do this, if you truly follow Jesus, you will immediately sense it within. You will know his sadness, for it will become your sadness. You just know when you’ve disappointed him.

Over time, if you continue to live in sin and quench the Spirit inside of you, his voice will become harder to hear. His power will no longer be available to you.

Spend time each day seeking the Spirit’s will in all areas of your life. Make your relationship with him your life’s greatest desire, your most fervent want to. If there is anything in your life contrary to his will, confess it and repent of it. Breathe out all impurities every single day. Receive God’s grace anew by confession (1 John 1:9).

Then, reconnect the relationship! Hear and obey the Spirit in a fresh way. Know the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). He wants to live in and through you! FOREVER!

The Silent Sovereign: Pray in the Spirit

by David Chadwick

This week, we are examining what it looks like to live a life yielded to the Silent Sovereign, also known as the Holy Spirit. Jesus calls us to live by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), be led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14), and to pray in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18).

What does it mean to pray in the Spirit? Well, it’s actually pretty simple. As you pray, listen to the Spirit’s promptings in your heart. Take note of what comes to your mind and pray in unison with these promptings. Pray God’s Word as you read it. You’re never safer than when you are praying something in unison with God’s Word.

In order to do this, you must find times of silence during your day to hear God’s voice and to know how to pray. Then, as he highlights certain things on your heart, pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Throughout your day, remain in constant communion with the Father, sharing your heart with him and praying for the things that he puts on your heart. You may be in your car, on a football field, sitting with a child or grandchild, taking an elevator up to a meeting, or shopping in a grocery store. You can pray anywhere!

Keep praying. Even when it is silent. Even when you don’t know how to pray. Don’t be concerned. The Bible even tells us that there will be times where we have groanings too deep for words. When that happens, the Spirit is interceding on your behalf before the Father in heaven and praying the exact words you need to pray (Romans 8:26).

The bottom line is this: when the Spirit leads you to pray, pray! Continually. Repetitively. Quietly. Loudly. With words. With groanings too deep for words. But don’t stop praying and believing. Your faith will grow and grow. And your life in the Spirit will become stronger and stronger.

I pray that the body of Christ will be ignited in these coming years to pray. And that as we do, we will experience a unity like never before. A unity that will see answers to prayers, miracles, healings, and a love for one another that will shock the unbelieving world!

To God alone be the glory.

The Silent Sovereign: Led by the Spirit

by David Chadwick

Live by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16). Be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). And today: be led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14).

The Spirit will speak to you in a variety of ways. But as we learned earlier this week, if you are one of God’s sheep, you will hear the voice of Jesus through the Holy Spirit (John 10:27).

But what does this look like?

Well, you may “hear” the Holy Spirit in many different ways. First, it could be through other people’s voices who you love and trust. Parents, mentors, pastors, Bible study leaders may be used by the Lord to help communicate truth to you.

Secondly, it could be through a gentle nudge in your heart. You may feel a quiet prompting to pick up the phone and call someone you haven’t talked to in a while. Or you may feel an unsettledness about saying “yes” to a certain job. God may highlight another country to you over and over again using repetition to cause you to take note of something you may not have otherwise noticed.

Thirdly, it could be through a blatant closed door where it is obvious God is shouting “no” in your ear! You might get fired from a job or experience a terrible break up. Often extreme situations are God’s way of guiding you and leading you by his Spirit.

Finally, recognize that sometimes the Spirit says, “No” to something. But other times, the enemy is against you and the Spirit will lead you through the opposition. If you are being led by the Spirit, you will know the difference, much like Paul did in the book of Acts. Sometimes the Spirit opened doors for Paul and other times Satan hindered him. But because he was led by the Spirit, he never delayed and walked faithfully in his calling.  And he was always victorious.

The bottom line is this - when you are being led by the Holy Spirit and you know God’s next step for you, OBEY! Do what he says to do. Go where he says to go.

I pray that you will be led by the Spirit and stay in tune to his voice, obeying him at every turn. After all, delayed obedience is disobedience. So follow his lead!