Holy Spirit, you are welcome here.

Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere.

These are lines from the very first worship song I ever loved after I really began to pursue Jesus. I loved them because of the invitation they extend, the call they place, and the acknowledgment of the need we have for the Holy Spirit in our lives.

I’m convinced that we don’t talk about the Holy Spirit enough. I mean come on people, this is who Jesus sent to live inside of us that He said would be better than if He stayed on this earth with us. Try to wrap your brain around that for a second. We have something that great and that powerful living inside of us that Jesus would call better, and yet, we often don’t give it the attention it deserves.

This past Wednesday night at our weekly Wesley service, the teaching was on the Holy Spirit. Now, let me preface this by saying that in my experience so far, when Wesley does a talk on the Holy Spirit, amazing things happen, so I knew from the moment I stepped in the building that it was about to get crazy.

Instead of our usual altar call at the end of the service, we had four distinct lines for people to come and receive prayer for specific things. As soon as the talk ended, I watched the front of the room flood with students and attendees who were in need of the Holy Spirit, God’s voice, healing, and mental freedom. I watched as people fought for each other, not giving up until they had experienced a real, genuine encounter with God.

People were set free, bodies were healed, minds were renewed, and lives were saved.

I, too, had my own amazing experiences and encounters that night, but what really blew me away more than anything was the collective experience of everyone in attendance. That just as my life was being changed as someone prayed for me, so were tens, maybe hundreds of others.

So if we know that when we invite Him, the Holy Spirit will come and move powerfully in a way that forever changes us and reminds us of who we are in the Father, then why wouldn’t we extend a constant invitation with no start and end time, no venue, and no conditions?

So I say Holy Spirit, you are welcome.

You are welcome in my home. My campus home and my permanent home. I need you here, and I need you there. Come and touch the lives of my roommates, my family, and me as we walk through life together day by day.

You are welcome in my family. Be working among us as we learn how to love each other better. On the days we fight, cry, laugh, hurt, and cheer, come and fill us up with You.

You are welcome in my relationships. With every person that I interact with, come and be present. Be moving in conversations and in our activities. Show me how to love others like Jesus loves.

You are welcome in my present and my future. I never want to spend a day not knowing that You’re with me, guiding me, teaching me, and showing me more of what is available to me through You.

You are welcome in my heart. Of all places, I can’t think of a more important or desperate one.

Your glory, God, is what my heart longs for. To be overcome by your presence, Lord.

Brought to you fresh from my keyboard,

Kalli