Come, Holy Spirit Novena Day 3
Scripture
Like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15-16
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. 2 Cor 3:18
Meditation Day 3
A few years ago, I had a growing spiritual restlessness that led me to ask God a question. This question came from a deep longing, and so it became more like a cry of the heart. I asked the Lord, “I want to live in the fullness of Your Kingdom here on earth. I want to live a life as full of Your Holy Spirit as possible. What do I have to do, Lord? What do you ask of me?” I knew I wasn’t alone in this prayer. Many people, perhaps you reading this, have the same cry of the heart. My yearning persisted for months, and I would pray repeatedly for God to answer me. One day during a trip to Europe, as I sat in a prayer meeting worshiping along with many others in the room, my insistent prayer mounted higher and higher. “What do you ask of me, Lord?” After a few minutes of pregnant silence, suddenly, a woman spoke these words in prophecy, “What I ask of you is to be holy, for I am holy.” Heaven connected with earth in my spirit at that moment. I knew God had spoken to me. And I also understood that the word was not only for me, but for all who long to live a life full of the Holy Spirit.
God calls us to pursue holiness because He is holy. The words, “Be holy for I am holy,” are God’s call of love to us to enter into communion with Him, Who is perfectly holy. Yet, God does not ask us to become holy on our own. The pursuit of holiness cannot exist apart from God. He makes us holy. We cannot muster holiness, hard as we might try. Only as we surrender to God and allow Him to transform us from within by the power of His Holy Spirit can we become holy. As we yield to the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives, God envelops us in His holiness, and we are transformed from glory to glory into the image of Christ.
Prayer
O Father, thank you for calling me to share in Your holiness. You desire to make me holy so that I can enter into an ever deeper and more intimate relationship with You. I know that without You I can do nothing; grant me the grace of surrendering to You. Lord, give me a heart and mind that pursues holiness because You are holy.
Traditional prayer invoking the Holy Spirit: Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
Meditation and first prayer by Adriana Gonzalez
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash