There are certain things in life that you can learn with your mind, and it forever changes the way you look at things. Other times, you can learn and learn and learn and never really "know." One of these things is having a God awareness. What do I mean by “a God awareness?" Well, theologically, we "know" that the Holy Spirit lives within us, but for most, this is a fluffy truth that doesn't mean much. We must have a revelation that the Holy Spirit lives in us and was given to us so that we can live victorious lives over sin (Galatians 5:22-23), walk in righteousness, and walk in His power and the boldness He provides (Acts 1:8). We must create a God awareness in our lives. The easiest way to do this is by engaging the Spirit of God wherever you are. You may be reading this on a bus, at your kitchen table or in a library; wherever you are, begin to engage the Spirit of God living inside of you. "Holy Spirit, I love you. Thank you for being in this place. Thank you that you live inside of me. Right now, I choose to engage in a conversation with you. You know my innermost thoughts. Holy Spirit, what do you want to say to me right now?” Pause. Listen. What is coming to your mind?
Having conversations like this with the Holy Spirit in every context of your life will radically alter your "God awareness." You will begin to see Him moving, and you will start to hear Him speaking all the time.
Near the end of Jesus' earthly ministry, He made His disciples aware that He would not be with them much longer, however, He did not leave them without any hope.
John 16:7-11: “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”
I can imagine the disciples thinking, "Really? Jesus, we don't think you should leave us. It would be better for you to stay; we are just getting started." It was to their advantage (and all who follow Jesus) that He would go to heaven. The Father was then able to send the
Spirit of Jesus to live in us for our benefit, to empower us for life and ministry. This is a glorious reality. What a beautiful gift. I remember the first time I realized this truth. In the Winter of 2010, Becky and I lived in a small apartment in Montana. I was sitting on our couch reading through the gospel of John. I got to John 16, and my world exploded. For the first time, I believed it was better for Jesus to go to heaven and the Holy Spirit to come. The Holy Spirit now takes up residence in my inner being. If you confess Christ as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that He is the Saviour of the world, the son of the living God, you have the Holy Spirit given to you as a promised inheritance.
Luke 11:13: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
The Holy Spirit Himself is a good gift from the Father. The power that raised Jesus from the dead now lives in each of us! Meditate on that!
Romans 8:11: “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
I have heard it said that we are a walking encounter. Everyone we see and come into contact with can encounter God because He lives inside us. This should radically alter the way we go about our days. In the context of hearing God's voice and creating a God awareness, when we intentionally listen to God, and consciously engage with the Spirit of God who lives in us, we hear God more, we become aware that He is always with us. Graham Cooke says, "When we do by intention what you've done by intuition, you achieve acceleration." Meaning, when we intentionally listen to God, we will recognize His voice in all situations. We become aware that wherever we are, the power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us, and we then have the boldness to pray for someone's healing in the grocery store, or we share an insight into someone's life that we could have only known by the Spirit sharing it with us. We begin to see life differently, the narrative shifts, and we begin releasing the kingdom of God wherever we go. Now, we are pulling the kingdom realities into our world. We are praying thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and seeing the Kingdom of God established in our midst.
When we listen to Jesus with intention, there is now the opportunity for a dialogue with Him, and a new world of intimacy is opened to us. Over many years, I have begun to grow in intimacy with the Holy Spirit, through the discipline of praying short prayers throughout the day. Now I will be walking through a store, and short prayers begin to flow out of me; I have grown in my God-awareness.
Here are five short prayers that I pray multiple times a day:
Short Prayers to Pray:
Holy Spirit, thank you for living inside of me.
Holy Spirit, explode out of me.
Holy Spirit, I love you.
Holy Spirit, make Jesus real to me. Holy Spirit, I honour you.
Jesus, be seated on the throne of my heart.
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