Spirit of wisdom and understanding, enlighten our minds to perceive the mysteries of the universe in relation to eternity. Spirit of right judgment and courage, guide us and make us firm in our baptismal decision to follow Jesus’ way of love. Spirit of knowledge and reverence, help us to see the lasting value of justice and mercy in our everyday dealings with one another. May we respect life as we work to solve problems of family and nation, economy and ecology. Spirit of God, spark our faith, hope and love into new action each day. Fill our lives with wonder and awe in your presence which penetrates all creation. Amen.
OR
Oh Holy Spirit, You are the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. You are the Spirit of truth, love and holiness, proceeding from the Father and the Son, and equal to Them in all things. I adore You and love You with all my heart. Teach me to know and to seek God, by whom and for whom I was created. Fill my heart with a holy fear and a great love for Him. Give me compunction and patience, and do not let me fall into sin.
Increase faith, hope and charity in me and bring forth in me all the virtues proper to my state of life. Help me to grow in the four cardinal virtues, Your seven gifts and Your twelve fruits.
Make me a faithful follower of Jesus, an obedient child of the Church and a help to my neighbor. Give me the grace to keep the commandments and to receive the sacraments worthily. Raise me to holiness in the state of life to which You have called me, and lead me through a happy death to everlasting life. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Grant me also, O Holy Spirit, Giver of all good gifts, the special favor for which I ask {name special petition}, if it be for Your honor and glory and for my well being. Amen.
OR
Holy Spirit of light and love, you are the substantial love of the Father and the Son; hear my prayer. Bounteous bestower of most precious gifts, grant me a strong and living faith which makes me accept all revealed truths and shape my conduct in accord with them. Give me a most confident hope in all divine promises which prompts me to abandon myself unreservedly to you and your guidance. Infuse into me a love of perfect goodwill, and act according to God’s least desires. Make me love not only my friends but my enemies as well, in imitation of Jesus Christ who through you offered himself on the Cross for all people. Holy Spirit, animate, inspire, and guide me, and help me to be always a true follower of you. Amen.
OR
Breathe into me, Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Move in me, Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Attract my heart, Holy Spirit, that I may love only what is holy. Strengthen me, Holy Spirit, that I may defend all that is holy. Protect me, Holy Spirit, that I may always be holy.
Saint Augustine
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that’s great! It’s a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We’re not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give.
If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving.
Thank you.
Help Now >
www.catholic.org
The Holy Spirit of God is the Helper, the Counselor of Truth, and Intercessor of God. Jesus says in John 14:15-17, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” Jesus knew that when He ascended into heaven, the world would need the Spirit of God with them, and so He sent the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit indwells us when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Table of contents
A Prayer to Welcome the Holy Spirit into Our Day:
Holy Spirit, we welcome You. Holy Spirit, we know that You are the Counselor of Truth, our help in need, and the One who fills us with the Spirit of God. Holy Spirit, we pray this very day to come into greater communion with You. You so graciously work to intercede for us to the Father, but also to comfort us with Your peace that goes beyond all understanding. Holy Spirit, please come.
Holy Spirit, today we ask for godly counsel and direction. As it says in Psalm 37:4 to delight yourselves in the Lord, so we boldly seek to do so today. Following the will and heart of the Father is our greatest desire, for we know His plans are best for us and, in the end, glorify the kingdom. Holy Spirit, please lead us by Your wisdom, discernment, and kindness throughout our lives.Holy Spirit we praise and thank You for the love lavished upon us. Holy Spirit, we seek and so earnestly crave to be in Your presence, to feel the inner work of You in our own hearts and minds. You so graciously give comfort, truth, and love. Holy Spirit, we welcome You this very day. In the Name of Christ Jesus, Amen.
Come Holy Spirit
Upon the ascension of Christ, Jesus left with us the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts. The Holy Spirit works within our hearts to not only give us peace, but also direction. When we seek the Holy Spirit for truth, we are asking to know the route to the will of God in order to be obedient and full of wisdom. Even the groans we profess can be translated by the Holy Spirit to the Father as prayers on our behalf. Communication from God in different forms comes by the Holy Spirit so that we can better know His heart for us through revelation. The Holy Spirit works to be the Helper of God.
10 Verses about the Holy Spirit
1. The Holy Spirit is the Helper of God:
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26)
2. The Holy Spirit is the Intercessor:
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” (Romans 8:26)
3. The Holy Spirit indwells us:
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19)
4. The Holy Spirit gives wisdom and understanding:
“And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.” (Isaiah 11:2)
5. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:15-17)
6. The Holy Spirit is given to us:
“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!” (Luke 11:13)
7. The Holy Spirit works in our hearts:
“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” (Ezekiel 36:26)
8. The Holy Spirit speaks what is to come:
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”(John 16:13)
9. The Spirit communicates God’s Word for us:
“And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.” (Acts 2:17)
10. The Holy Spirit unveils us:
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)
Unity with the Holy Spirit brings us ever closer to the heart of Father God. Knowing we have the Spirit of God within us and knowing we can inquire of the Spirit for direction, truth, and wisdom ushers forth hope. Ask the Holy Spirit today to reveal Himself to you for a peace that goes beyond comprehension, a love that pours upon us like gentle rain, and a path for us to bless the kingdom. The Holy Spirit is our helper, friend, and connection to God Himself.
Cally Logan is a writer and teacher from Richmond, Virginia. She graduated from Regent University. Currently, she is a writer for Dear Sparrows Ministry site, and the Podcast, “Dear Sparrows.” In her free time, she enjoys leading a high school girls’ small group, cooking, and spending time in tree houses. Her latest books, Dear Young Sparrow and Unveiled are available everywhere or at DearSparrows.com.
Photo Credit: GettyImages/ipopba
www.crosswalk.com
There is a connection in the Bible between the Holy Spirit and prayer. Prayer is one of the most important activities that a Christian can engage in, and yet many believers find it to be a difficult practice.
When our prayer life is filled with the Holy Spirit it takes on a whole new dimension. Let’s look at some ways that the Holy Spirit is connected to prayer:
1. The Holy Spirit is Attracted to Prayer
We see several times in the Bible where the Holy Spirit moves and comes upon people in the context of prayer. When the early church was waiting for the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Scripture says that they “continued with one accord in prayer and supplication” (Acts 1:14). They were not just waiting passively; they were praying passionately- and then they were filled with the Spirit.
Look also at Acts 4:31: “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” The church was beginning to experience persecution and so they came together to pray. As a result, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and had a fresh boldness to declare God’s Word.
Even in the case of Jesus being anointed with the Spirit for His ministry there is a connection to prayer. In Luke’s version it says: “When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him” (Luke 3:21-22). We often miss that Jesus was praying when the Holy Spirit came upon Him.
An atmosphere of prayer attracts the presence of the Holy Spirit. To be a Spirit-filled believer you must be a praying believer. To be a Spirit-filled church you must be a praying church.
2. The Holy Spirit Empowers us to Pray
Not only is the Holy Spirit attracted to prayer, He also empowers us to pray. Look at Romans 8:26-27: “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. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
We do not always know what to pray for, but the Holy Spirit will lead us and empower us to pray according to God’s will. This includes, but is not limited to, praying in tongues by the Spirit’s power. Praying in tongues can be a powerful weapon of prayer and the Lord can use it to pray through us what He desires to pray.
We also must wait on the Lord and allow Him to lead us and direct us in prayer. Too often we come to Him in prayer and we simply go through our “laundry list” of requests. While there is nothing wrong with bringing our requests to God, we must also allow the Spirit to lead us in what to pray. I have personally found this to be one of the hardest parts of prayer; just waiting on the Lord in silence. But I have also found this to be the most rewarding part of prayer, as this is when the Lord reveals Himself to me the most.
Let us become a people of prayer who seek the face of God and call upon Him. Let us cultivate a lifestyle of Spirit-empowered prayer. As it says in Jude vs. 20, let us build ourselves up in the faith, praying in the Holy Spirit!
www.jakekail.com
