Developing a Personal Relationship with the Holy Spirit

When I graduated from Bible college, my wife and I planted our first church in Houston, Texas. We grew a lot in ministry experience in the three and one-half years we served there as pastors. One of the greatest lessons we learned was how important it was to depend upon the ministry of the Holy Spirit in both feeding people the Word of God and loving and caring for them. 

After a time of praying in tongues and time in the Word, the Lord confirmed to us our next pastoral assignment would be in North Texas. Most of my key relationships today came as a result of our ministry in River of Life Church in Decatur, Texas. That is where I met Paul Milligan, the former CEO of Andrew Wommack Ministries. That is where I met Andrew Wommack, as he was a guest speaker in my church for many years. And that is where I developed a relationship with my pastor, Bob Nichols.

“But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit…” (1 Corinthians 2:9–10). 

What a powerful passage of Scripture this is. The things God has prepared for us He reveals to us by His Spirit! Since that is true, it is imperative you and I purpose to develop an intimate, personal relationship with the Holy Spirit.

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive…” (John 14:16–17). 

The world cannot receive the Spirit without receiving Jesus as Lord. The second most important thing in having this kind of personal relationship with the Spirit is to receive the Baptism in the Spirit—to be filled with the Spirit. If you have not yet received the Baptism in the Spirit, you are not going to be as sensitive to His promptings and leading in your life.

When you spend time with the Holy Spirit, His voice and leading will become just as clear and distinct to you as the voice of one of your close family members. The truth is, Jesus is present with us in the person of the Holy Spirit 24/7.

My wife and I have counseled literally hundreds, probably thousands, of people over the past four decades since we have been filled with the Spirit. One of the most important lessons we have learned in helping people is no two people or couples are the same. They may be dealing with the same problem, but the answer is not the same because of what is going on in the hearts of each individual. It takes the ministry of the Holy Spirit to show us which principle from the Word applies to each person or couple in each situation. 

In one case, a staff member, Donald, I had trained met with a couple who were considering separation in their marriage. When they came in to meet with Donald, he asked each of them to share with him what they thought the root problem was in their marriage. Rhonda began by pouring her heart out, complaining about Larry for twenty minutes without hardly taking a breath. She was talking and could not shut up, according to Donald. While she was talking and complaining, Larry sat in his chair with a smug look on his face. It was clear to Donald he was thinking, “See what I have to deal with all the time. I can’t get a word in edgewise.” 

Donald listened to Rhonda and listened to Larry’s body language through his arms folded and the smug look on his face. He also was praying quietly under his breath in the Spirit and listening to the Holy Spirit. After twenty minutes, Donald spoke out what He heard the Spirit say to him, “Larry, you are the problem in this marriage. You have failed to pay attention to your wife and minister to her emotionally. You have failed to take responsibility to cover your wife with prayer and give her unconditional love. And you are hiding behind her weaknesses to excuse your own!” 

Larry was shocked and Rhonda immediately stopped talking with her mouth and eyes wide open. Larry was a good man who immediately repented to God and to his wife. He got down on his knees and wept while he apologized to her. The presence of God filled the room and this couple left with complete freedom and healing in their marriage. This all happened because Donald had developed a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. He also had followed my instruction to depend on the Spirit to show him what the real heart issues and root problem is in the individual or couple before he attempted to give them an answer from the Word. 

Larry and Rhonda both became true disciples of Jesus through Donald and his wife mentoring them after that time in his office. Thank God for the Holy Spirit! He knows everything about everyone and will help us help people if we will just listen to Him and follow His promptings. 

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26). 

We need the Holy Spirit to teach us about everything that is important in our lives and is part of God’s plan for our lives. Jesus was filled with the Spirit, led by the Spirit, and followed the Spirit throughout His life and ministry. If He needed the Holy Spirit, then we need the Holy Spirit.

A number of years ago our son Michael had done something he knew was wrong. He had clearly crossed a boundary my wife and I had set for him, and I was going to have to make sure he experienced some consequence for his decision to disobey us. He was seven years of age at the time, and I sent him to my room and asked him to lean over the bed. I was about to apply the rod of correction to the seat of instruction for his bad decision. As I began to raise my hand holding the small dowel rod and apply it to Michael, I heard the Holy Spirit say, “It’s your fault.” 

I stopped and told the Spirit quietly under my breath, “What do You mean, my fault? We told Michael if he did this, he would get a spanking. He clearly violated what we said, rebelled against our word, and he needs to receive correction so he knows this boundary is serious with us and to him.” I then started to raise the rod in my hand again, and I heard the Spirit say almost audibly in my spirit, “I said it’s your fault!”

I went into another room and asked the Lord, “What did You mean when You said this was my fault? How were Michael’s actions my fault?” He responded immediately and said, “Michael would rather receive negative attention than no attention at all. You haven’t been spending intentional time with him and that’s the reason he did what he did—to get your attention.” Wow! I was stunned by this revelation of my oversight in my relationship with my son. 

I went back into the bedroom, repented to Michael for my failure to spend quality time with him, and asked him to forgive me. He jumped in my arms, and we had a great time of restoration. All because of a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. 

One final principle that has helped me develop a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit is instant obedience and responsiveness to His promptings in my heart. When I am sensing He wants me to give something to someone or to a particular ministry, I have conditioned myself to do it promptly.

I am not saying I do this perfectly every time. I have simply purposed in my heart to be a responsive and prompt follower of His leading in my life. This has caused me to develop sensitivity to Him and has increased my intimacy with Him. Most of the time I have experienced Him leading me to do something it is very low risk to follow through. Whether it is by giving, praying for someone, encouraging someone, or giving someone a word from the Lord, there is very little risk involved. 

I have learned to just step out and act on whatever inward prompting He gives me. And the results have been phenomenal. Healings, encouragement to others, signs, wonders, and miracles are the fruit of following His promptings. After a period of time, I had many spiritual experiences I could use to compare to His present promptings and leading in my life. This makes following Him even easier. 

“These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:13). 

Once you commit to follow His leading promptly in your life, you will begin to amass a storehouse of testimonies of how God used you in supernatural ways. You will also have many spiritual experiences that line up with His Word you will be able to compare to any present prompting or leading you are sensing is from the Spirit. This will produce tremendous confidence in you in hearing and following Him now and in the future. 

You can have a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit and live a supernatural life. It’s not difficult. If I could find this and walk in it, you can. It doesn’t come by making vows or through the strength of your will. It comes by trusting in Him, depending on Him, listening to Him, and following His leading in your life.

I speak courage to you as you step out in the release of the gifts of the Spirit through your life. I speak exciting kingdom adventures over you as you walk into the future God has planned for you. And I speak divine connections and divine appointments in your relationships. The supernatural will begin to flow through you in brand-new ways. Healings, miracles, signs, and wonders will follow you. New pages in Acts chapter 29 will be written by you. The best is yet to come in your life! Welcome into this amazing, supernatural life.

Adapted from Greg Mohr’s book, Flowing in the Supernatural.

Watch Pastor Greg’s television series on Living a Supernatural Life to learn more.