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Thank you for your reply. So the mans by which God applies His grace towards us are in the ordiances, church fellowship/worship/praying etc?Begin with the "means of grace." The primary means of grace is the Word of God, both written and preached. So if you want to be led by the Spirit, be attentive to the Word the Spirit has given and the preaching of it.
Add to that the blessings we can expect when we attend to the sacraments (ordinances), which extend from the preached word. And although some Reformed theologians categorize it differently, I think of prayer as a means of grace as well. The Father has promised to give the Spirit to those who ask him (Luke 11:13).
There are many disciplines that proceed from these things, like Christian fellowship (the Spirit's community) and Christian meditation (thinking on the Word) and repentance from that which is non-Spiritual. These are part of "walking in the Spirit."
Do we pray and talk to Him to keep empowering, enabling us to live as we should?
I would do better if I prayed much, much more than I do.
I must depend on Christ in my daily walk. I am a "little" bi-polar, on very few meds, and I just can't make it on my own. This is a blessing. I find I need at least two hours of Bible and prayer each early AM. Two-and-a-half to three hours if I have a tough day ahead, or had one the day before.
Are you stating here that Paul was addressing that to be done ehen the church gathers together? As My understanding, and from what I was taught since saved, has been that Paul in his command to be continually refilled in th Spirit refers to us on an individual basis?If we look at the expression in Ephesians 5, the participles which follow the imperative to be filled with the Spirit can be understood as the means of carrying out the action, and these are all related to the communion of saints. The same applies in chapter 4 to the grieving of the Spirit, which comes in the context of being members one of another. Both seem to be drawing from the essential truth stated in 4:3 that the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace is something believers must endeavour to keep. In this light it can be seen that the infilling is of a corporate rather than an individualistic nature, and it is carried on by means of speaking to one another, singing together with a gracious melody, giving thanks, and submitting to one another.
Are you stating here that Paul was addressing that to be done ehen the church gathers together? As My understanding, and from what I was taught since saved, has been that Paul in his command to be continually refilled in th Spirit refers to us on an individual basis?
I must depend on Christ in my daily walk. I am a "little" bi-polar, on very few meds, and I just can't make it on my own. This is a blessing. I find I need at least two hours of Bible and prayer each early AM. Two-and-a-half to three hours if I have a tough day ahead, or had one the day before.
Interesting! So the Apostle is grounding the infilling of the Spirit to be part of the community of faith that we are part of, in e local church, Body of Christ in families, so basically, He is ehortng us to make sur ethe Holy Spirit is in the center of all of our associations?It is not necessarily limited to when the church gathers together, although that would be the prime time for expressing the glorious blessing of the Spirit which God has poured out on the church; and certainly the reference to singing has a particular application to the church coming together; but the other directions have a relevance in every connection where believers are dwelling together in mutual society with one another, and the next section looks directly at familial relationships. I would affirm that the exegetical evidence is against taking the infilling of the Spirit individualistically, although there is an individual responsibility included within the imperative. As noted, the previous uses of "Spirit" are speaking to the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace and healthy relationships within the body of Christ, and the following imperatives are directed to believers in social context. There are also some considerations in the Greek, but it will be difficult to explain those where the Greek is an unknown tongue.
I'd also like to thank you! Being a "little" bi-polar myself, I can understand where you are coming from. I have always believed that it was God's grace that I'm bi-polar, but I'm already getting off topic.
As to the OP, I find myself continually praying for the Spirit to give me strength throughout the day. I often find it when I'm listening to/reading the Word or listening to a preacher. Sometimes I am strengthened through prayer itself. Whatever the case, as Ed said, I would never make it on my own.
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Do you talk directly to Him, such as "Holy Spirit, Help me now to witness?" Know that we are to pray to the Father, in the name of Jesus, is it OK to talk to Him also?