Don't Ignore Your Best Friend

When I am around someone I really like and care about, I engage them in coversation. I pay attention to them. I acknowledge their presence and what they are saying. Anything else would be rude and would devalue the person. We need to do the same for the Holy Spirit.

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever— John 14:16 (Amplified Bible Classic Edition, AMPC)

The Holy Spirit is a Person- the third Person of the Godhead. He is equal in importance and significance to God the Father and to Jesus. He has a personality and He has feelings. He has been sent here to come along side us and encourage, guide, teach, comfort, and strengthen. He lives in us and seeks to fellowship with us. To ignore Him shows that we do not value Him.

We need to include Him in our decisions- even the small ones. He cares about what we care about. It all matters to Him. He wants to be involved in every area of our lives. In addition, He has wisdom and knowledge about what to do that we do not. It is crazy not to seek His counsel. Just ask Him what to do. Then listen. He will speak to you in your inner man- your spirit. You will sense His message to you deep down. And it will always agree with the Word.

The Holy Spirit wants to be involved in your daily activities. Be conscious of His presence at all times. Acknowledge Him when you are at work, at school, at home, in the store, with friends, etc. And be sensitive to the things that grieve Him; things like strife, envy, lust, and such. Stay far from those things so that you will always sense Him with you.

How long has it been since you spoke directly to the Holy Spirit? Always maintain an awareness that He is there. Talk with Him as you would a dear friend. To be sure, there is no dearer friend than Him. Cultivate and grow your relationship with Him by interacting with Him as you would your earthly loved ones. Tell Him you love Him and are grateful for Him. Pray in tongues. He desires your friendship with a passion and dedication that no one on earth can match.

Don’t ignore the Holy Spirit. Not only is it rude, but it is your loss more than His. He has everything to offer. If you have not been keeping Him involved in your daily life, now is the time to start. You will find Him to be the most devoted, yet most powerful, friend you ever had.

And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Savior, the Holy Spirit of Truth, who will be to you a friend just like me—and he will never leave you. The world won’t receive him because they can’t see him or know him. But you will know him intimately, because he will make his home in you and will live inside you. John 14:16 (The Passion Translation, TPT)