What Being Filled with the Holy Spirit Means

D.L. Moody was once asked why he urged Christians to be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit. Moody’s response was, “Well, I need a continual infilling because I leak.”

The Scriptures constantly tell us the importance of our dependence of living, walking, and speaking by means of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s look at a few truths about a relationship with God through the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul writes in depth about living dependently upon God’s indwelling presence in each Christian’s life. Read and think about some of these God-breathed statements:

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own … .” -1 Corinthians 6:19, emphasis added

Know that your body is the temple of God’s presence because the Holy Spirit lives in you.

“… be filled with the Holy Spirit… .” - Ephesians 5:18, NLT

The Christian is called to depend upon the Holy Spirit’s presence to produce the fruit of God’s character manifested in our lives. That is a command to each of us.

Read the statements about living and walking by the Spirit that the Apostle Paul writes about in Galatians 5.

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. …

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. …

“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” -Galatians 5:16-18, 22-23, 25

So with all of these truths about living for God’s purposes and experiencing God’s presence daily, how can we make sure we are walking by God’s Spirit in life?

Let’s put this together. It’s God’s will that we are controlled by the Holy Spirit so that the Spirit can produce the character qualities of Galatians 5:22. So ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit. This is His will for you.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” -1 John 5:14-15

Now, know by faith God has promised to give us what we ask for when it is His will. Thank You, Lord, for willing me with Your presence.