How to Cultivate Receptivity to the Holy Spirit (Part 2 of 2)

This week is the conclusion of this series.  I hope you have enjoyed it and that it has provided some practical help as you seek the manifest presence of God.  Today I will share a few practical steps to help you cultivate receptivity to the Holy Spirit in your life.

1.  James 4:8 “draw near to God and he will draw near to you.”  We have to actively seek God and desire for him to work in our lives.  If we do not provide an opening for God’s action in our lives, he will not force himself on us.

2. Practice spiritual disciplines.  Read the Bible, pray, worship, serve etc. (there are many more spiritual disciplines).  As we spend time in spiritual disciplines a little bit of worldliness falls away and the hidden spiritual realm is opened up a little bit more.

3. Offer ourselves as living sacrifices.  There is no limit to what God can do with a willing sacrifice.  See Romans 12:1-2.

4. Strive to live a holy life.  God is a God of love, but he is first and foremost a holy God.  To follow Jesus in earnest we must strive for holiness and love.

5. Submit to God’s will.  We reach a landmark moment when we realize that God’s will is what is good for us and that it is what is pleasing to God.

A person submitted to God and striving to live a holy life will be far more aware of the presence of God because that person realizes that she is an active agent of God’s kingdom breaking into this world.  If I sacrifice and actively work to improve my marriage there will a payoff in development of depth, trust and communication in the relationship.  It is no different with God.  If you sacrifice and put effort into the relationship, the relationship will grow and improve.

If we passively sit back and wait for God to do something, he very well may do something, but it likely won’t be through those who are sitting back waiting for something to happen.  It will be through those who have submitted themselves to God and have said “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10).

One final Tozer quote to wrap things up: “Let any man turn to God in earnest, let him begin to exercise himself unto godliness, let him seek to develop his powers of spiritual receptivity by trust and obedience and humility, and the results will exceed anything he may have hoped in his leaner and weaker days” (Tozer The Pursuit of God pg 64).

A.W. Tozer’s book The Pursuit of God inspired me to write this series and if you've enjoyed this series of blogs I’d strongly encourage you to read it.  I’ll be back next week with a new topic so stay tuned!