Does God still talk to His people the way He used to way back when, and is He still here for us the way He used to be? Both questions can be answered by scripture. Hebrews 13: Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, forever. 1 Peter 5:7. Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you deeply. Therefore, the answer to both these questions is yes. But how do we communicate with Him effectively so that we know we're being heard? Simple. Through His Holy Spirit. John 14:26. The Comforter (Holy Spirit) which the Father will send will teach you all things. (Including how to pray.) These days the Holy Spirit is literally our lifeline. Anyone who has been spiritually awakened cannot survive a walk of Christianity without Him. It is impossible. It is through His Holy Spirit that God is able to lead us, instruct us, teach us, strengthen us, correct us, etc. And it is vital that we seek Him daily. We need His strength and wisdom to help with each and every situation that we encounter as the day evolves. Without Him we can easily find ourselves in a mess load of trouble.

And it's not just the big things He's here to help us with, it's the little things, too. For instance, there was a time when I wasn't as attentive to my household chores as I should have been and was, by that, causing extra work for my roommate. I would wash and dry a load of towels and then forget to fold and put them away or I would use the last of the ice cubes and put the tray up, thinking I would refill it at a later time, only to forget, etc. My roommate never complained, but my carelessness really began to bother me, so I asked the Holy Spirit for help. Immediately He came to my rescue. I not only began to notice things that needed to be done but was also 'prompted' to do them right away. After that, the ice cube trays were always full, the towels were folded and put away as soon as they were dry, the floors were swept, etc. Anything that I was prompted to act upon I did, and my roommate was grateful for the change. This went on daily for about two weeks.

Then one day as I was moving about the house I spotted something that needed to be taken care of, only that special prompting to actually do it then and there did not follow. Not thinking much of it at the time I went ahead and took care of the chore. A little later I came across something else that needed attention, but again was not prompted as I was expecting to be. Nonetheless, since I knew it needed to be done I took care of it. This went on for a few days more, then finally I asked God if I had done something to offend Him because I could no longer feel the special prompting of His Holy Spirit. Immediately God spoke to my heart and said, "You asked me to show you how to be more attentive to your responsibilities and I have. For two weeks I led you by the hand and showed you this item or that that needed your attention. You know all the things that are required of you now, why do you still wish to be led about as a child? You know what has to be done now, so just do it."

The Holy Spirit is a very precious and unique Gift. I cannot image my life without Him. If you consider yourself to be a Christian, you will feel the same. And if you aren't familiar with Him, then now would be the perfect time to get to know Him. Large and small, He cares about it all.

Angie Lane
April, 2007