December 4If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? — Luke 11:13.
If the Lord's consecrated people could all be brought to the point where the chief aim in life, the burden of all their prayers, would be that they might have a larger measure of the Spirit of the Lord, the spirit of holiness, the spirit of the Truth, the Spirit of Christ, the spirit of a sound mind, what a blessing it would mean! If then they should wrestle with the Lord until the breaking of the day, their hold upon Him would be sure to bring the desired blessing. The Lord has revealed Himself to His people for the very purpose of giving them this blessing; nevertheless, He withholds it until they learn to appreciate and earnestly desire it—Z '01, 271 (R 2864). When our Lord tells His disciples that they are evil, He does not mean that their intentions are wicked; rather that they are fallen in mind and heart; yet He implies that they still have vestiges of God's image whereby they know how, and are enabled, to give natural good gifts to their children. From the imperfect who can do some good, He reasons that the Absolutely Perfect One can do more good, i.e., can and will give His holy Spirit to His children who ask it at His hand. The gift of the holy Spirit is the highest spiritual gift; in fact, it is the sum of all our present spiritual blessings, and "the earnest" of our eternal inheritance. Therefore, requests for the holy Spirit should be the main burden of all our prayers to our Heavenly Father. God gives it to His own—P '30, 183, 184. Parallel passages: Psa. 103:13; Prov. 1:23; 3:12; Joel 2:29; Matt. 7:7-11; 21:22; Mark 11:24; John 14:16; 15:7; 4:10; Eph. 1:3; Titus 3:4, 5. Hymns: 35, 239, 1, 90, 91, 95, 198. Poems of Dawn, 102: Lord, Give Me This! Tower Reading: Z '15, 38 (R 5623). Questions: Did I this week pray for the holy Spirit? How? Why? What was the effect? |
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LORD, GIVE ME THIS!
LUKE 11:13.
O HEAVENLY Father, Thou hast told
Of a gift more precious than pearls and gold;
A gift that is free to every one,
Through Jesus Christ, Thine only Son.
For His sake, give this to me.
O give it to me, for Jesus said
That a father giveth his children bread,
And how much more Thou wilt surely give
The gift by which the dead shall live!
For Christ's sake, give this to me.
I cannot see, and I want the sight;
I am in the dark, and I want the light;
I want to pray, and I don't know how;
O give me Thy Holy Spirit now!
For Christ's sake, give this to me.
Since Thou hast said it, I must believe
It is only "ask" and I shall receive:
Since Thou hast said it, it must be true,
And there's nothing else for me to do!
For Christ's sake, give this to me.
So I come and ask, because my need
Is very great and real indeed.
On the strength of Thy Word I come and say,
Oh, let Thy Word come true today!
For Christ's sake, give this to me!
LUKE 11:13.
O HEAVENLY Father, Thou hast told
Of a gift more precious than pearls and gold;
A gift that is free to every one,
Through Jesus Christ, Thine only Son.
For His sake, give this to me.
O give it to me, for Jesus said
That a father giveth his children bread,
And how much more Thou wilt surely give
The gift by which the dead shall live!
For Christ's sake, give this to me.
I cannot see, and I want the sight;
I am in the dark, and I want the light;
I want to pray, and I don't know how;
O give me Thy Holy Spirit now!
For Christ's sake, give this to me.
Since Thou hast said it, I must believe
It is only "ask" and I shall receive:
Since Thou hast said it, it must be true,
And there's nothing else for me to do!
For Christ's sake, give this to me.
So I come and ask, because my need
Is very great and real indeed.
On the strength of Thy Word I come and say,
Oh, let Thy Word come true today!
For Christ's sake, give this to me!
