I love Holy Spirit. When you become a Christian Holy Spirit comes and lives inside of you. Most Christians don’t understand him and how to get to know him. He is our comforter, teacher, and friend. One reward of becoming a Christian is he moves in with you. It is a wonderful thing. You are never alone again. I am amazed at how many Christians don’t take advantage of his friendship. 

Holy Spirit makes life worth living. Make him Lord, but also make him friend. Act towards him like you would a human friend. Involve him in your questions, decisions, thoughts, and celebrations. Be open. Talk to him all day. Your life will not be the same. Here are some thoughts about how to get to know him.

Get to know Holy Spirit by acknowledging him as a person. Start each morning by slowing down, pausing, getting quiet, and speaking to him as a person. He is a person, not just a presence, force, or a spirit hovering over us. He has feelings, a will, intellect, and personality, just like we do. Ask to know him better as a person. It is not hard to hear him. You just have to slow down and practice. Just like we do with our human friends. Slow down and ask. You don’t have to be mature to know him. Babies know their mother’s voice. It is amazing!

Get to know Holy Spirit by waking up expecting to hear from him. Look forward to it. You will be rewarded. Sometimes you will hear him talk to you. Other times, you will feel a peace that passes all understanding. Other times, you will know he is speaking to you through things you observe around you. This can be a walk outside, something someone shares with you, a passage you read in a book or the Bible. But be expectant. You will hear and see him as you quiet your soul and are expectant. Be ready!

Get to know Holy Spirit by being open to new thoughts. Many times we come to God expecting him to reinforce what we are already doing or thinking. That happens. But routinely you will be surprised at the new perspectives and ideas he will give you. He is full of wisdom and a master strategist. As we walk in humility, he will fill us up with wisdom and strategies. Being open to embracing his ways is one of the biggest keys to receiving from him.

Get to know Holy Spirit by becoming more aware that he lives inside of you. Matthew 3:16 says, “After Jesus was baptized, he immediately came up from the water. Suddenly, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down as a dove to him. (God’s Word Translation)” The Holy Spirit is gentle, like the analogy of a dove described here. He is not loud and demonstrative. Sometimes it helps me to picture a dove on my shoulder. How would you move differently if a dove was actually there? Something to think about.

Get to know Holy Spirit by being grateful towards him. Tell him regularly, “thank you for living inside of me. I try not to take you for granted. I appreciate you so much.” It’s as simple as that. Try it and let me know how it goes.

Get to know Holy Spirit by telling him how good a job he is doing. He often speaks to you about an idea, his opinion of you, an assignment, or what the Father thinks. When he does this, don’t just say, “Ok”. Tell him, “now that is a good idea. Thank you!” Try it and let me know what happens in you.

Get to know Holy Spirit by experiencing his affection towards you. He is more than just a place to gather information. It is also about experiencing his affection towards you. For some of you, we fear our emotions. But ask Holy Spirit to show his affections towards you. It will start healing you of any wounds you have. Start speaking not just with your head, but also your heart.

Get to know Holy Spirit by making him Lord. Ask Holy Spirit to freely move in you, your family, friends, business, and every area of your life. Tell him you will submit to whatever he wants to do, say, or bring. Bind up any fear that you may have with this decision. God has the best intentions for you. You can trust him. Don’t go to sleep tonight till you submit to his lordship.

Get to know Holy Spirit by giving up control. Will you or him decide the direction of your life? Holy Spirit will let you control your life. But what are we afraid of by not letting him control it? Is your trust stronger in what you can do than what he can do? Why? This is a battle at the very foundation of who you are and what you are about. Sit in his presence and ask, “Holy Spirit, why do I sometimes fight you for control? Thank you for better understanding of myself so that I can get to know you better.”

Remember Holy Spirit rarely speaks loudly. Psalms 46:10a says, “Be still, and know that I am God;” Why? He is on the inside of you, so he doesn’t have to. He speaks audibly to people from the outside because He is not on the inside. That is why there are instances of audible voices in the Old Testament and gospels. They didn’t have the Holy Spirit yet. God’s voice is a quiet voice down inside of you that does not come from your mind, but from your Spirit. You can miss him speaking if you’re not quietly listening. Tune your spirit to him today.

When say something to Holy Spirit, or ask him something, be sure to stop talking and be quiet. Expect him to talk to you before you go on to your next statement or request. He will talk to you if you give him a quiet period to talk. A small voice will come up from your heart and not from your mind. It may be an impression, but it is God. It is the most exciting thing when you have a two-way conversation with God.

Have you ever sat uninterrupted in Holy Spirit’s presence? I am talking about setting time apart regularly just to relax and be in His presence without coming with a prayer list. Tell the Lord how much you love being with Him. As you do this, you will feel His presence come upon you. The challenge during these times is to stop all the thoughts that come into your mind that distract you. Have you ever noticed how when you set aside time to be with God, worries, to do lists, concerns, and unfinished projects come to your mind? Learn to push through these. It helps me to write my thoughts down on a piece of paper for review later, but don’t stop relaxing and enjoying His presence.

Have you ever noticed how, when you set aside time to be with God, worries, shame, regrets, and concerns come to your mind? In Genesis 3:7-11, it talks about Adam and Eve hiding from God and putting on fig leaves they sewed together. These leaves were symbolic of hiding something from him–their shame, their sin, etc. We all can create our own ‘fig leaves’ that we hide behind to keep from being intimate with God. Are we afraid to go into his presence because of things we are hiding behind? Ask God to help with taking off the fig leaves and to stand ‘naked’ in his presence. It is tough to do, but very liberating!

Getting to know Holy Spirit better means we have to deal with being overstimulated and over scheduled. What is the #1 thing we usually answer people when they ask how we are doing? “I have been busy!” We have little downtime. We even take our phones to the bathroom. To find internal rest, start with external rest. This is a discipline we have lost. On purpose, don’t look at your phone, tablet, etc. for an hour at a time. If you get bored, good! Boredom starts a path back to rest. This is where humans have been for their entire existence until the last 20 years. Get bored. Ask Holy Spirit questions during your boredom. You will eventually slow your mind down and then you will hear him better.

Getting closer to Holy Spirit means you have to give up something. Dealing with intentional projects and unintentional distractions. Sometimes ruthlessly. Luke 10:38-42 tells the story of two people who were Jesus’ followers — Martha and Mary. Martha represents the ‘doing, serving, bringing things (food)’ to Jesus out of a good heart. Mary sat at his feet and just enjoyed being near him. God honored Mary’s heart and hunger. What are the distractions that keep you from seeking? Are they necessary? Brother Lawrence, a medieval monk, said, “It is shameful to abandon this divine communion to occupy our minds with trivial matters.” What can you give up to just sit with Him?

One of the best ways to grow in hearing Holy Spirit is to quickly obey. Don’t debate and analyze in your mind. If you pick what you want to obey, he will stop speaking to you. Obey his voice quickly even when what He asks seems foolish. Sometimes we don’t know the meaning of what God asked us to do until we look back at it after we have done it. He does this on purpose. I can guarantee that you can trust him to make it all work.

I have shared many truths. If I could have only shared one thing, it would have been this – slow down. Pause. Learn to rest. In these times, talk to Holy Spirit as a person. You will be amazed at how you will become best of friends.