Should We Pray for the Holy Spirit?
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Is Luke 11:13 appropriate for today?
Yes, it is appropriate for today because all scripture is inspired of God and profitable (2 Timothy 3:15-16). Now, let’s discuss why it is appropriate today. The context of this verse is Jesus’ teaching about persistence in prayer. Earlier in the chapter, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. Jesus gave them an example prayer. He then proceeded to teach them the importance of praying persistently in the parable of a friend who comes to the house at midnight. So he teaches us to ask and keep on asking. Moreover, Jesus says that even evil men know how to give good things to their children when they ask. He then says that God, who is pure and holy, will give good things to those who ask of Him. This is when we come across verse 13. What does the verse say? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
I suppose the questioner wants to know if God gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. The answer is, “Yes.” The Holy Spirit was not always given in the same measure. Jesus received the Holy Spirit without measure (John 3:34). The apostles received the Holy Spirit with measure. Paul discussed how he demonstrated the signs of an apostle (2 Corinthians 12:12). They were limited to certain spiritual gifts. Those on whom the apostles laid their hands were limited to fewer gifts (Acts 8:17-18). Paul discusses some of these in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. These are referred to as the manifestations of the Spirit. Additionally, the Spirit of God dwells in the Christian without necessarily demonstrating any spiritual gifts. Consider the following passages:
- John 14:23: “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.’”
- 1 Corinthians 3:16: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
- 1 Corinthians 6:19: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”
- Ephesians 2:22: “in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
- 1 John 3:24: “Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit Whom He has given us.”
- 1 John 4:13: “By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.”
Jesus said that both He and the Father would come to the one who keeps Jesus’ word and make Their home with him. Paul wrote that we are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in this temple. Moreover, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit that is from God and we are not our own. We are being built to be God’s dwelling in the Spirit. He abides in us by the Spirit Whom He has given. He has given us of His Spirit so that He may abide in us. Should we ask God for the Holy Spirit today? Yes, not in any miraculous way, not in any better felt than told way, not in any carnal way, but simply understanding that God’s presence is with His people in a special way because He is in fellowship with them. In this sense we can ask for God’s Holy Spirit.