REPOST Today’s Spiritual Food for Thought, written by Pastor Sam Lee who leads Catalyst Agape Church in Northern New Jersey, was first posted on December 3, 2013.  He is a graduate of University of Wisconsin (BA) and Biblical Theological Seminary (M.Div.).

Spiritual Food for Thought for the Weekend

“How to Be Filled with the Holy Spirit?”

Ephesians 4:30

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

People are hungry for the anointing of the Holy Spirit; therefore, some seek out famous speakers to lay hands on them, hoping for their anointing to rub off on them. This sounds like a good plan, but it is not as easy as it may seem. Last summer, I went to a conference where several internationally famous anointed men and women of God came to speak. The problem was that since thousands of people wanted to receive prayers from these speakers during the ministry time, I couldn’t even get near most of them; it was like trying to get to a flat screen TV on a Black Friday.

We all want the anointing of the Holy Spirit, but do we have to wait for a major conference, that is, do we need to travel hundreds of mile to get that anointing? Does the anointing come just because a famous speaker lays their hand on us for a split second?

Today’s passage is the key to being filled with the Holy Spirit; the Bible says, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit.” We don’t have to wait for a retreat, a revival meeting, or a conference. Nor do we need to seek an “anointed’ man or woman of God to get prayed over. We can do something today to be more filled with the Holy Spirit. We need to honestly ask the Holy Spirit what grieves him. You may be surprised by what you are told.

If He points out bitterness, let’s take time to forgive.  This is to say, the way we relate to one another often grieves the Holy Spirit.  If He points out pride, let’s take time to humble ourselves. If He points out anxiety, let’s take time to pray until we have peace. If He points out wrong beliefs and thoughts, let’s take time to seek out biblical truths to replace it.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to empty out the root of bitterness and pride from my heart so that the Holy Spirit can fill and saturate me. In fact, fill me with the Holy Spirit so that the grip of bitterness and pride on my heart may be loosened so that I can walk in the Spirit, not in my flesh.  Amen.   

Bible Reading for Today: 2 Corinthians 2-3