April 15

Proper Priorities

In the passage before us today, Jesus spends some time sharing with His hearers that God is both a Father and a Friend. It is vitally important that we realize that God wants to give us the Holy Spirit, for if we are not absolutely sure of this, then our asking will be shot through with indecision and uncertainty.

The great Archbishop Temple said, “We ask for the Holy Spirit, yet in the depth of our hearts we are not sure whether He wants to give it to us, and this one single doubt negates the object of the exercise.” So stop wishing to receive the Spirit in all His fullness and start expecting. You can be positive in asking because God is positive in giving.

Bring the whole matter to a crisis. One great preacher said that “the soul grows by a series of crises.” Make it a matter of priority to spend some time in prayer to receive more of His Spirit and become desperate over the issue. Treat it as if God dropped a letter into your mailbox this morning that said, “I would like to see you as soon as possible over a matter of a very important gift I want to give you.”

If that happened, I wonder how you would handle your schedule over the next few days? Things you thought were top priority would become of secondary importance. When you decide to give God top priority in your plans, then, believe me, God will give you His top priority—the Holy Spirit.

Further Study

Mt 6:1-15; 14:23; 2Kings 4:33; Lk 6:12

What did Jesus teach about prayer?

What was His example?