John: Yes. The Bible teaches of both God’s omnipresence and His manifest presence. We learn about His omnipresence from David’s words:

Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend into heaven, You are there;

If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.

If I take the wings of the morning,

And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

Even there Your hand shall lead me,

And Your right hand shall hold me.

(Psalm 139:7-10)

The Bible also says God will never leave or forsake us (see Hebrews 13:5). Again, this is His omnipresence—His presence that is everywhere always.

On the other hand, there is God’s manifest presence. To manifest means to bring the unseen into the seen, the unheard into the heard, or the unknown into the known. God manifests His presence when He reveals Himself to our senses (see John 14:19-24). I believe it is biblical to ask for that.

Question: Why do we pray for God to pour out His Spirit? Hasn’t He already done that?

John: Zechariah 10:1 says, “Ask the Lord for rain in the time of the latter rain.” In Scripture, rain always represents an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. I believe that when we ask God to pour out His Spirit, we’re asking for a fresh outpouring on communities, cities, and nations. This is a greater release of His manifest presence, which empowers us to do His work and leads to an increased harvest of souls for God’s kingdom.

Question: How can I develop a deeper relationship with the Holy Spirit? How can I experience more of His presence and power?

John: By spending time with God and in His Word. A fuller explanation of how to develop intimacy with God can be found in chapters two and three.

Question: If the Holy Spirit knows all things, why do we need to read the Bible?

John: God gave us His inspired Scriptures because they are “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV). The Holy Spirit uses this written Word (the Greek word is logos) to bring His spoken word (rhema) to us. The Spirit quickens the logos and it becomes rhema spoken to us. If we do not spend time in the logos—with an open heart to the Spirit—then the rhema is much more difficult to come by. The underground church in China was filled with the Holy Spirit, but for years they were desperate for Bibles. They wanted to read God’s Word so the Holy Spirit could speak to them through it and bring it alive in their hearts. It is so important that you read the Bible. The Word of God and the Spirit of God work together. It’s a partnership.