Want to walk in God’s perfect will? The Spirit will help bring it about by praying through you with cries, sighs, groans, and heavenly tongues. “And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will” (Romans 8:27 NLT). Carefully read this passage. What is the Spirit saying to you through this?

For if you have the ability to speak in tongues, you will be talking only to God…. You will be speaking by the power of the Spirit, but it will all be mysterious. A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally…. For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying. Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand.

—1 Corinthians 14:2, 4, 14-15 NLT

“As you surrender yourself to the Spirit, he will present you and your need before the Father’s throne. The Holy Spirit knows the perfect mind and the perfect will of God. He who searches your heart and knows you better than you know yourself will bring that need before the throne of God, and you cannot miss when the Holy Spirit prays through you.”

—Kathryn Kuhlman8

Chapter 4 - Discussion Questions

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

If you are using this book as part of the Messenger Series on the Holy Spirit, please refer to video session 4.

1 | It is important to understand that there is a difference between the Holy Spirit coming to make His home in us at the time of salvation and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. How would you describe these two extraordinary experiences?

2 | Why do you think Jesus commanded His disciples to wait for the infilling of the Holy Spirit before moving forward to do anything for His kingdom (see Acts 1:4-5)? What can we learn from this principle of “waiting to receive power from on high,” and how can we apply it in our lives today?

3 | The infilling of the Holy Spirit empowers us to speak in other tongues. A tongue is simply a language not recognizable to our understanding. Imagine you were one of the faithful Jews visiting Jerusalem from a foreign nation on the Day of Pentecost. How do you think you would have reacted to hearing the believers speak in your native tongue about salvation through Jesus Christ?

4 | When the Holy Spirit fills believers, what two dynamics are consistent in virtually every occurrence? For what reason did God most likely bring salvation and the infilling of the Holy Spirit to Cornelius and his family simultaneously? Share a story of how God broke out of a “religious box” you put Him in and expanded your understanding of who He is.