In Luke 11, Jesus’ disciples ask Him to teach them how to pray. After He models a prayer for them, He goes on to say:

“Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’

“Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

If you’re like me, you gravitate to the “ask and it will be given to you” part. Not even the seeking and knocking parts. Just the asking and receiving part.

Is that where you go too?

What’s really catching my attention today though is the very last thing Jesus said, “…how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Sure seems like Jesus is more excited about us asking for the Holy Spirit than anything else. Does that excite you though? I mean, would you rather have a financial breakthrough or the Holy Spirit? Would you rather experience physical healing or experience the Holy Spirit?

I’ll be honest, if I have a financial need or I’m  sick…I think I know what I want. Are you with me?

Fortunately, Jesus isn’t forcing us into a corner and making us choose. He doesn’t say it’s an either/or proposition. We can ask for financial help and also ask for the Holy Spirit. If we need healing, we can ask for that and ask for the Holy Spirit.

I know for some of us, the Holy Spirit is a bit of a mystery. Sure, we know He’s God, but it’s a little hard to relate to Him, right? Even if our earthly father wasn’t very good (thankfully mine was), we all know what it’s like to have a father, so we can relate to God the Father. And Jesus, God the Son, was human just like us. We can understand relating to another person.

But the Holy Spirit? It can be a little harder to understand Him. And yet Jesus had a lot to say about Him in John 14-16. Maybe it would be worth spending some time there.

Now here’s the really good news. If you’ve placed your faith in Christ, you don’t have to ask for the Holy Spirit. You already have Him. He’s living in you right now.

So rather than asking the Father to give us the Holy Spirit, maybe our prayer needs to be, “Holy Spirit, I give myself to you. All of me. Wholeheartedly. I hold nothing back.”

It’s really the only path to experiencing the full, abundant life God has for us. It doesn’t come through self-effort or hard work or manipulation. It comes through full and complete surrender to a person, to the Holy Spirit.

What’s stopping you from giving yourself to Him right now?