Should we pray directly to the Holy Spirit?
He leads me …
Christians can struggle to understand where the Holy Spirit fits in as part of the Trinity or Godhead. This is because His role differs to what Jesus and the Father do. The names Father and Son are familiar to us because they are referred to regularly, but the Holy Spirit is not referred to very often and so we do not know a lot about Him. Therefore, when it comes to prayer should we speak to Him directly?
When Christians pray, the Holy Spirit helps us when we do not know what or how we should pray. It can happen both when we are praying and when we are stuck with a mental blank. The Holy Spirit very gently cuts across our thoughts with a mental impression of someone’s name or a situation, and it is then over to us to pick up on it and take that person or the event to the Lord in prayer. This is praying in the Spirit.
So if the Holy Spirit is active in our lives like this, should we pray to the Him directly? There is nothing wrong about doing this, and there is nothing in the Bible telling us not to do it. However, most Christians follow Jesus’ teaching (Matthew 6:9; John 14:13; 16:23-26). We are told to pray to the Father, through the Son (when we finish the prayer ‘in Jesus’ name’), by the power of the Holy Spirit. There may be times when it is appropriate to pray directly to the Holy Spirit, but it is more usual to follow Jesus’ example.[1]
The Holy Spirit was sent by God the Father to all mankind to glorify Jesus Christ, not Himself. We see His work through our consciences, instinct and intuition. We also find that He will not do or speak what He wants to, but only what He is given by either Jesus or the Father (John 16:13, 14).
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all God together as one. When we pray to any of them, we pray to God. We do not have to consider theologically who we should pray to each time we pray – we just pray ‘Lord …’ then all three are addressed.
The most important thing to remember is that God desires to have a relationship with us, and like other relationships that can only happen when we talk to each other – in this case through prayer.
There may be times when it is appropriate to pray to either the Son or the Holy Spirit because we are dealing with something that either one is specifically responsible for. For example, we may pray directly to Jesus, thanking Him for His sacrifice on the cross. On another occasion we may pray directly to the Holy Spirit, asking Him to provide us with the right words when we share our testimony (Ephesians 6:19-20).[2]
We see from this that the Holy Spirit is active in our lives, so we should know what He does in order that if we need help, we can address Him correctly. Here are seven of the ways that the Holy Spirit works in our lives with suggested prayers in italics following.
1. He brings glory to Jesus
All of His works bring glory to Jesus Christ and He also reminds believers of what Jesus has said. (John 15:26; 16:14; Acts 5:32; 1 Corinthians 12:3; 1 John 4:2). – Please Holy Spirit help me to worship Jesus better so that He really knows that I love Him.
2. He makes us progressively become holy
He will convict us of sin (John 15:8–11) and as we walk together with the Him (Galatians 5:16, 25), He will strip away our desire to sin and make us more like Jesus. This is the process of sanctification. - Please Holy Spirit help me to get rid of my sin and to become more and more like Jesus.
3. He helps us to understand the Bible
The relationship of the Holy Spirit with the Bible is twofold.
· He inspired the writing of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20–21) and helps us to understand what the Bible says (John 16:13; 1 Corinthians 2:9–11; Hebrews 3:7; 10:15, 16). – Holy Spirit this scripture is really hard to understand. Please show me what it means.
· Also, if we are teaching the Bible, it generally pays to ask the Holy Spirit to help the listeners understand the passage that we are sharing. - Please Holy Spirit work in the listeners’ hearts and minds so that they will receive what You want them to hear.
4. He calls us to work/service
The Holy Spirit not only calls people to faith in Jesus Christ, but he calls us to a specific vocation or task.
This means that He will guide us in our day to day endeavours too. Regardless of what it may look like, the Holy Spirit is always directing what we are doing.
As we trust God (Proverbs 3:5–6), read the Bible (Romans 12:1–2), and seek godly counsel (Proverbs 11:14), the Holy Spirit will guide us while we are doing what He has called us to do. - Holy Spirit, please help me each day to do and say the things that bring honour to Jesus.
5. He helps us to pray
The Holy Spirit is actively helping us in our prayer life – especially when we do not know what or how we should pray (Romans 8:26–27). - Holy Spirit, You know how I struggle with my prayer time. Please help me to know what to pray for, and guide my thoughts so that I am praying the correct way.
6. He guides us in life generally
The Holy Spirit also guides us throughout our life (Galatians 5:16, 25; cf. Acts 8:29; 13:2; 15:7–9; 16:6; Romans 8:14). Though the Holy Spirit is guiding us on a deep, personal level, the Scriptures suggest that we are responsible to respond appropriately to His guidance by ‘walking according to the Spirit’ (Romans 8:4; Galatians 5:16). – Please Holy Spirit help me to walk with you so that we work together, and I am doing things your way and not mine.
7. He gives us spiritual gifts
He gives us gifts for the common good of the church (1 Corinthians 12:7). This means that we receive spiritual gifts for building up the church. He also gives us gifts so we may serve others (1 Peter 4:10).[3] Holy Spirit, I appreciate the gifts and abilities that You have given me, but please help me to use them wisely so that I bring the full honour to Jesus.
We can see from this that it is over to each one of us whether we pray directly to the Holy Spirit. If we do, hopefully this helps.
Dear Reader – If you have found some value in this blog, please feel free to send a copy on to your family and friends. Kind regards, John
[1] Should We Worship and Pray to the Holy Spirit? Andrew Menkis, Core Christianity;
[2] Can We Pray to the Holy Spirit? 5 Prayers to Use, Danielle Bernock, Crosswalk.com;
https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holy-spirit/can-we-pray-to-the-holy-spirit.html
[3] 24 Must-Know Characteristics of the Holy Spirit, Jesse Wisnewski, Tithe.ly Next;
https://get.tithe.ly/blog/characteristics-of-the-holy-spirit
