“If 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

In this verse Jesus Himself gives us a vital promise regarding empowerment for service. The word “shall” reveals that this is a promise. The word “ask” reveals the condition to the promise. The phrase “the Holy Spirit” reveals what is being promised.

The issue here is not asking for the indwelling of the Spirit. That is a fact for every believer. The issue is asking for the power of the Holy Spirit. The issue is the ministry of the Spirit—His operation and, therefore, power. How do you obtain this promise for His power? Three steps of faith may be understood from this passage.

Three Steps of Faith

First, ask “your heavenly Father” to “give [the] Holy Spirit” to you for the scenario for which you need his ministry and power. It may be His power for a witnessing opportunity or his ministry for a child-training situation. But the first step of faith is to ask for the ministry of the Spirit. Simply ask.

Second, take, because Jesus emphasizes “how much more shall your heavenly Father give [the] Holy Spirit to them that ask him.” Since the Father gives the Holy Spirit’s ministry to those who ask, at that point you must take. You must transact with God regarding the promise.

Third, act upon the provision. Proceed in the confidence that the Spirit’s power will meet you in the moment of service, regardless of how you feel prior to that moment.

Ask

Obtaining these promises might begin like this: “Lord, I need Your touch to declare the gospel on this visit. O Lord, without You I can do nothing. But I am trusting You to enable me to speak and to enable those to whom I speak to hear with understanding. Lord, I simply ask for the ministry of Your Spirit in every regard.” This is the first step of asking.

Take

Then as you are praying, the Spirit will bear witness with your spirit, “You have your request—here it is,” and you can stop asking. In fact, to keep asking would be to step backward into unbelief. Just take God at His word. Jesus promised to give the Holy Spirit’s ministry to those who ask, and the Holy Spirit has borne witness that you have been given your request. Instead of continuing to ask, you might simply say, “Thank you, Lord, for granting me the power of Your Spirit.” This is the second step of taking.

Act

Then you must proceed in the confidence that God will enable you to speak and enable those to whom you speak to hear with understanding. In other words, you must declare the gospel. You must not just believe that God can enable, but that He will as you open your mouth with the message of the good news. This is the third step of acting. As you take this step, God meets you in the moment of the step of faith and supernaturally enables you.

Since “all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us” (2 Cor. 1:20), the promises of God should inspire us to possess them by faith. We should heartily let the Holy Spirit convince us of the many “exceeding great and previous promises.” May it be said of us as it was said of Abraham, “And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform” (Rom. 4:21).

Dare to face the facts and claim what is, and dare to face the promises and obtain what will be. Dare to possess your possessions! For as Joshua 13:1 declares, “there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.”

Adapted from “The Faith Response: Understanding and Applying a Biblical View of Dependence on God” by John Van Gelderen.