How Does the Holy Spirit Work in Us?

The Holy Spirit is fighting for souls and is responsible for wooing and animating salvation moments—sealing a permanent relationship with God. A strong relationship and partnership with the Holy Spirit means working with Him in His mission to connect the love of God to the people He has placed in your life.

As the Holy Spirit is forming a Christlike attitude in you, He equips and prepares you to battle as Jesus did for the eternal future of those He has placed in your life. It is uniquely yours in the life you are living—in the place where you work, in the space where you play, and in the fellowships where you pray. 

So, what is the Holy Spirit doing within you to impact these spaces right now?

1. The Holy Spirit will use our conversations to testify about Christ in our lives.

“When the Friend I plan to send you from the Father comes—the Spirit of Truth issuing from the Father—He will confirm everything about me. You, too, from your side must give your confirming evidence, since you are in this with me from the start.” (John 15:26-27, MSG)

We talk about what we are truly excited about. This includes gadgets that make our lives easier, apparel we love, restaurants that serve amazing food and drinks, and just about anything that enriches our lives. When we do that, we are the best evidence for whatever we are evangelizing to someone else! Think about all the things or places we tell others “you have to try!” 

Cooperating with the Holy Spirit is synonymous with talking often about the person of Jesus if we are truly animated and convinced about His presence in our lives. And while many interactions we have throughout the day are incidental or transactional by nature, many others can be eternal and monumental if we are in close contact with the Holy Spirit.

Think of the people God is calling you to get closer to within the flow of your life so they will consider the claims of Christ. Jesus’ point above is simple and challenging: if a relationship is truly meaningful to you, you can’t not talk about it with others.

Think of the people God is calling you to get closer to within the flow of your life so they will consider the claims of Christ. Jesus’ point above is simple and challenging: if a relationship is truly meaningful to you, you can’t not talk about it with others.

2. The Holy Spirit prompts us to know and make known the clear terms of the gospel.

“I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-5, NLT)

The Holy Spirit prompts followers who are concerned about the lost to distill the message about Jesus to the point where they are comfortable sharing it with others. It starts with your testimony and what you believed when you came to Christ—nailing that and then giving others the same message for them to trust.

Salvation is found uniquely in the person and work of Christ. Simply ask yourself:

• What was my personal “aha” regarding Jesus that made the light bulb turn on inside and allowed me to turn from myself and my sin to embrace the person of Jesus Christ?

• What did the Holy Spirit clear up for me?

• Why did it make sense then and not before?

• Why was it so meaningful?

• How did the information about Jesus turn into a relationship with Jesus?”

• Which of my friends do I want to introduce to Jesus?

These are all questions the Holy Spirit has already answered in your life. The most natural thing we can do is to share the clarity He has given us with others.

3. The Holy Spirit will validate for others the truth of the gospel message.

“Once people have seen the light, gotten a taste of heaven, and been part of the work of the Holy Spirit…they can’t start over as if nothing happened. That’s impossible.” (Hebrews 6:4-6, MSG)

“When He comes, He will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness because I am going to the Father, where you can see Me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.” (John 16:8-11, NIV)

The best news ever is that the Holy Spirit’s job is to take what you say and make it sing! It is called convicting a person. That means the Holy Spirit’s job (not ours) is to move them into an awareness of God, a consciousness of their need, and a clear understanding of what they have to do—repent from self-sufficiency and come to God humbly and dependently. You and I can’t change anyone’s thoughts toward God, assuage deep-seated cynicism, or heal past traumas that cause them to question God’s existence.

And if you have prayed and prayed for another person and are ready to throw in the towel—don’t. Instead, be praying for the Holy Spirit to open that person’s heart to God, His way, and be ready to help when the right time comes. 

And if you have prayed and prayed for another person and are ready to throw in the towel—don’t. Instead, be praying for the Holy Spirit to open that person’s heart to God, His way, and be ready to help when the right time comes.

If there is one thing I have learned in over four decades of sharing Jesus with people, it is that the Holy Spirit’s methods of softening and cracking open the human heart to receive the gospel are numerous, sometimes bizarre, and always just right.

The Holy Spirit says, “Do not stop praying.” Pray Jesus’ prayer:

Father, it’s time. Display the bright splendor of your Son. So the Son in turn may show Your bright splendor. You put Him in charge of everything human, so He might give real and eternal life to all in His care. And this is the real and eternal life: that they know You, the one and only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You sent. (John 17:1-3. MSG)

Taken from Overflow: Setting the Holy Spirit Loose in the World You Live In by Kenny Luck © 2022. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.