Pray to God in the Holy Spirit and He will grant you what you ask

The Gospel reading for the first Sunday of Lent is taken from the Gospel of Luke 4: 1-13. Luke describes Jesus' encounter with the devil in the desert. Jesus was preparing for His ministry, fasting in the desert when the devil came along to tempt Him. The devil offered Him instant gratification in return for deeds that were contrary to Scripture. As you all know, Jesus rebuked all the promises of the devil, quoting from Scripture, all the while enduring His weak human form.

We were all asked to ponder on the difference between a quick fix solution or a long deliberate consideration. The usual discussion on the topic of God not always answering our prayers for the things that we want but rather for the things that we need came about.

More often than not, we ask for things that are fleeting, things that are passing, which brings about temporary happiness. These are not things that we need, things that last. The real stuff that improves our relationships with people around us, especially our family. 

Someone mentioned about scripture that says: "Ask and you shall be given, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened unto you." If taken literally, it would be misunderstood that God will give you anything you ask of Him.

Father clarified that this must not be taken out of context for if we pray to God in the Holy Spirit, He will grant you what you ask. The key here is that we must be in the Holy Spirit, and be guided by the Spirit, for only then will we ask for the things that we need and be granted them.

This statement brought about a new perspective to me. Being able to include the Holy Spirit in our lives is all the more difficult due to the fact that there is no concrete form that the Spirit takes, plus the fact that we are all visual beings.

Though I am involved in the charismatic movement, I struggle with involving the Spirit in my personal prayer and seem to pray for things that I feel I require at that very moment. Today, I put on a fresh pair of eyes and invoke the Holy Spirit to guide me in my prayers and in my walk with the Lord.

Be with me gentle Spirit and reveal to me the things that are necessary for me to ask of God that will bring me closer to thee.