Spirit-filled living

God's indwelling Spirit does three wonderful things for each of us: (1) He seals us! 'In him you were sealed with the Holy Spirit whom he promised' (Ephesians 1:13 GWT). To protect a letter we seal the envelope. To seal a deal, we sign the contract. A seal declares importance, value and ownership.

(2) He protects us! Peter says we are 'shielded by God's power' (1 Peter 1:5 NIV). We have no idea how many times God has stepped between us and the enemy, protecting us from harm. Deep within each of us, God's Spirit whispers, 'You are mine, and what I own I protect and care for.'

(3) He makes sure we are heard! Understand: 'The Spirit helps us with our weakness. We do not know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit himself speaks to God for us, even begs God for us with deep feelings that words cannot explain. God can see what is in people's hearts. And he knows what is in the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit speaks to God for his people in the way God wants' (Romans 8:26-27 NCV).

Notice: 'The Spirit help us with our weakness.' Weak bodies, weak wills, weak faith. How good to know that it's not up to us. None of us prays as much as we should - but we all pray more than we think - because the Holy Spirit turns our sighs into petitions and makes sure we are heard.

So what now? Sealed! Protected! Heard! Spirit-filled living - refuse to settle for less.

— SCRIPTURE —

'The Spirit help us with our weakness.' Romans 8:26 NCV
— SOULFOOD —

Rom 9:17-11:36, John 10:1-10, Ps 20, Pro 29:9-10