Preparing Your Heart to Start the Day
I know you probably got a lot going on, but I want you to take just these 15 minutes to begin your day with the Holy Spirit: to begin your day correctly, that you might live a life today that glorifies God through word, through thought, through action, and through attitude. Here is what we are going to do. We are going to go through various different biblical truths that will help to set you up correctly for today. Then, I am also going to pray with you through these truths so that these truths can become solidified in your heart so that you can apply them. But right now is when you have to decide that you are going to live a day that honors God.
In the same way that a sports team practices before a match, and in the same way that the military trains before going into battle, so too must a Christian prepare themselves before temptations and battles.
1. Commit to Listening to the Holy Spirit’s Instructions
So, here is the first thing you are going to do and the first truth we are going to pray through. Number one: commit to listening to the Holy Spirit’s instructions instead of your emotions and impulses. That is, don’t allow your emotions to control your life. Don’t allow your flesh’s impulses to control your life. What do I mean by impulse? Well, the flesh’s impulse comes with different cravings. Maybe you have an impulse for lust, and you catch yourself looking when you shouldn’t be looking. You catch yourself typing things into the search bar that you shouldn’t be typing.
Maybe you have an impulse of greed, and your impulse is to hoard and not be generous. Your impulse is to prioritize material gain above spiritual gain. Maybe you’re dealing with emotional stirring, and you come to the place where you’re so angry that you have outbursts of anger. Your anger is directed at your family, your spouse, your kids, your parents. Perhaps it is in those angry episodes that you let out words you know you should not be saying. But we as believers are not led by the sin nature. We ought to be led by the Holy Spirit. And you need to make that determination now, that you are going to live today as we see instructed in Galatians 5:16: “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.”
This is what I want to say: “Let the Holy Spirit lead your lives.” I like how that sounds. “Let the Holy Spirit lead your lives.” In other words, submit to His workings. Submit to His leading. This is how we get the concept of submitting to the Holy Spirit. If ever you find yourself in situations where your flesh leads you to act one way, while the Holy Spirit is leading you to act differently, then submit yourself to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. If you find yourself wanting to act impatiently, angrily, or unlovingly, then submit yourself to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. If ever you want to act impatiently, unkindly, or unlovingly, submit instead to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. If ever you find yourself hurrying without wisdom, thereby becoming foolish, then submit instead to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit guide you in how you respond to your emotions and impulses, that you might be a testimony to your family, to your friends, to your co-workers. Maybe you got a boss at work who just absolutely angers you. Do not let that unforgiveness grow in your heart. No, rather say no to that feeling and yes to the Spirit.
So, we’re going to pray through this first truth, and then we’ll move on to the next one. But I want you to receive this, and you’re going to receive strength right now. You’re going to receive strength, especially—listen, especially—in those split seconds where you want to lash out or do something or say something that you know you shouldn’t be doing. The Holy Spirit speaks in those split seconds. May you be living in such a way that you’re so aware of Him that in those split seconds, He can get your attention before you say or do something foolish.
Prayer for Emotions and Self-Control
Let’s pray for that right now. Father, in the name of Jesus, I lift that one to you now who is asking for your grace in the area of their emotions and impulses. And Father, I pray that you would strengthen them even now as they begin their day determined to glorify you. I pray that you would give them grace, give them sensitivity to your Holy Spirit. And Holy Spirit, be their reminder in those moments when they want to give in to the flesh. Help them to say yes to you and no to emotions and impulses that contradict your nature.
Lord, I thank you that you’ve given them self-control. I thank you they absolutely have mastery over self. Begin to thank Him now by faith. Say, “Thank you, Lord, for enabling me with the strength of self-control. Thank you, Lord, for self-control.” And if you agree with that and you receive that by faith, I want you to type it in the comment section. Type a big amen.
2. Choose to Believe the Holy Spirit is Close
Okay. The next thing that you are supposed to do in this case is choose to believe that the Holy Spirit is always near, even at times when you feel like He’s far from you. “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you forever.” This statement was made in John 14:16.
The strongest truth that Christians continually fail to recognize is—I’ll tell you something, and you’ll say, “Oh, yes, I know all about that,” but here’s the application of it—the Holy Spirit does not abandon you. The Holy Spirit abides faithfully with you just because you make a mistake. Just because you don’t walk in perfection doesn’t mean that the Holy Spirit is just going to ditch you and move on to somebody else.
I don’t think often that we allow that truth to permeate our thinking holistically. I think that sometimes there are pockets where we still believe—pockets in our minds, pockets in our thoughts, pockets in our feelings—where we still believe that the Holy Spirit abandons us. For example, let’s say that you’re reading the word and you read the word Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and you’re doing 20 chapters a day, but then on Friday you can only do five because maybe a loved one went to the hospital, or maybe you were late for work, or maybe your alarm didn’t go off and somehow there was a new update on your phone and you just have to move on through your day—and you’re realizing that you’re kind of stumbling there. Now, some believers would take that and they would say, “Well, surely now the Holy Spirit just kind of took a few steps back from me. Surely I have less of his power now.” That’s just not the way it works.
Or perhaps you pray consistently and then one day circumstances make it so that it’s just difficult to pray a dedicated time of prayer. You’re talking to the Lord throughout the whole day, but now you don’t feel as spiritual, right? You feel like maybe now you’re a little distant from God. Maybe now you’ve gone a little bit lower in the spirit and you say to yourself, “I got to get back what I had with God.” Do you really believe that it depends on you? Do you really think that we can take the credit for when God moves in our lives because we’re praying and reading the word? You should pray and read the word. I have lots of teachings on this. But don’t think that the credit belongs to you. And on the other side of that coin, don’t think that just because you don’t walk in perfection in your devotion that the Holy Spirit’s going to abandon you.
Or maybe you make a sinful mistake and your first inclination is to be given over to the thought that the Holy Spirit has now stepped away from you. That’s not true. The Holy Spirit remains not to excuse your sin, but to help you correct it. And He’s there because He doesn’t want to leave you in that bondage.
Or maybe you had a season in your life where you felt the beauty of the presence of Jesus resting on you—like you could physically and emotionally be aware of the presence, like He just felt close—and maybe something happened where things took a few turns, and now you felt, in your mind at least, you feel like that lifted off of you. Well, let me ask you, did the presence of the Holy Spirit lift off of you, or are you simply just not feeling Him in your emotions? There’s a big difference.
Prayer for Assurance of His Presence
So, Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray for that one receiving this truth now. And I ask you to comfort them with the truth. Let them be totally convinced that you abide with them. I rebuke every lie of the enemy that would try to confuse them because of what they feel or don’t feel. I rebuke every harassing demonic spirit that would try to convince your people that you’ve abandoned them just because of their circumstances, just because of some mistake that they made. And I pray, Holy Spirit, that you would cause your truth to prevail today. No matter what happens, no matter what they feel, cause them to cry out, “Father!” No matter what happens, no matter how they feel, cause them to know by faith that your presence is with them. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. I want you to type it again if you believe. Say, “Amen.”
3. Decide to Live in Joy and Peace
Number three: you must now choose to live in the joy and peace of the Holy Spirit regardless of whatever situation you might face.
There is so much that can happen. There may be problems financially. There may be problems in relationships. There may simply be internal struggles where you do not even know what is going on inside yourself. You are tired and weak and confused, and perhaps somewhat disassociated from reality. But that joy and peace is available for you.
Despite what is going on in the world around us, we are tempted to read all the news and become fearful. We tend to examine our surroundings and allow some peace to be lost. Or perhaps there is a loss, and there is tragedy, and there is disappointment, which leads to heartache. Oh, but the joy of the Spirit is still there as your strength. So no matter what comes your way, determine now that you’re not going to be shaken by the powers of this world or the power of circumstance, but that you will live in the joy and the peace of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer for Joy and Peace
Precious Holy Spirit, stir your joy and peace within their hearts. Cause them, Lord, to be firmly planted in your presence that whatever comes their way, they might rise above the noise and soar on the winds of the joy and peace of the precious Holy Spirit. Take them to higher places, Lord. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. And again, type amen.
4. Tune into Spirit-Minded Openings and Adjustments
Fourthly, look for divine direction and correction. According to Acts 16:6–10:
“After this they went on through the region of Phrygia and Galatia with the intention of preaching the word only in Asia, for the Spirit prevented them by the Holy Spirit. Then passing through Mysia, they came down to the region of Troas.” But again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas. That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there pleading with him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the good news there.”
So, here we see that Paul is prevented from one region and then led to another. You have to listen for the instruction of the Holy Spirit because He brings guidance and correction. He tells you when to move, and He tells you when to pause. But if you are hurrying past the voice of God and paying no attention to Him, ignoring Him and neglecting Him, then you won’t be hearing these vital directions from God.
I urge you today to find the divine openings. Doors will be opening up before you. Divine connections will be before you. Breakthroughs, miracles, testimonies, and gospel openings will be before you. But it is listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit that is telling you to go and to stop.
A Prayer for Guidance and Sensitivity
Therefore, let us pray now that you might have sensitivity to the Spirit’s voice and that you might seek the Spirit-led chances and corrections. Believe opportunities are coming to you today. Father, in the name of Jesus, I lift that one to you now who is receiving this word of truth, and help them to be sensitive to the precious Holy Spirit, to look for divine opportunities where you’ve placed them, to move at the pace of grace. Help them to listen for your correction, for your guidance. Help them to go when you say go and to stop when you say no. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. And if you’ll yield to that, I want you to type in the comment section, “I surrender.”
