To the end that through [their receiving] Christ Jesus, the blessing [promised] Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, so that we through faith might [all] receive [the realization of] the promise of the [Holy] Spirit.
– Galatians 3:14

I have written a great deal about the Holy Spirit and about being filled with the Spirit, and I want to make sure you have an opportunity to know the Holy Spirit in this way.

The Holy Spirit is a gentleman. He will not force Himself into your life in His fullness uninvited. He will fill you, but only if you ask Him to do so. In Luke 11:13, Jesus promises that God will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. And James 4:2 tells us that the reason we do not have certain things is that we do not ask for them.

I encourage you to go boldly before God and daily ask Him to fill you with the Holy Spirit. Ask expecting to receive. Don’t be doubleminded or allow doubt to fill your heart, but ask in faith. Believe you receive, and thank God that He lives in you. God is not a man, that He should lie (see Numbers 23:19). He is faithful to fulfill His Word whenever anyone steps out on it in faith, so ask and receive that your joy might be full (see John 16:24).

Today’s verse says that we receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Gifts cannot be forced on anyone; they must be offered by the giver and then received by those to whom they are given. God makes the offer of His Spirit, so all you need to do is relax and receive by faith.