Dear Reader,
I prayed that you would find this book. That you are reading this very sentence right now is no accident. My prayer for you was one of simple faith. The prayer was, “Father, place this book in the hands of those who need it.”
About a year ago, I received the inspiration to write this very book. While standing in a church service, I was listening to a preacher talk about the need for the church to befriend the Holy Spirit. And I truly believe that friendship with the Spirit is the message of the hour. God wants to introduce an entire generation of new believers to the Holy Spirit. He made that clear to me during that church service.
And during that church service, the preacher told all of us in attendance to “pray in tongues for five minutes.” Remarkably, it was within those five minutes that the entirety of this book was seemingly downloaded into my spirit. After we all finished speaking in tongues, I turned to my friend next to me, showed him an outline and said, “God just gave me this book—start to finish—right now.”
Of course, this book wasn’t entirely written then. However, I knew within that instant, what the outline, theme and core concepts of this book would be. Typically, planning the core concepts of a book will take me several months. But there was something very special that happened in this case. Using what I had come to know, the Holy Spirit seemed to supernaturally accelerate the planning process for this book. What should have taken months took only a few minutes. The Spirit gave me a special grace.
Why?
It’s because the Holy Spirit desires and longs for a friendship with you. Such a friendship can be fostered here upon the earth, and it can endure throughout the span of eternity. He wanted me to tell you of His yearning for your fellowship. He wanted me to invite you to know again the depths of prayer.
To me, the Holy Spirit is a most faithful and loving Friend. He and I have been through many seasons of both blessing and challenge. He is all that is charismatic, effective and magnetic about me. Apart from Him, I can do nothing of eternal significance. He teaches me to pray, reveals truth through the Word, reminds me of my commitments and inspires genuine worship within my heart. He reveals Jesus to me and cultivates a divine love that exudes to overflow.
It is my prayer that you too would become familiar with the Person of the Holy Spirit. If you’ll allow it, I desire to become your liaison in introducing you to the Spirit Himself. May this book be that introduction.
Jesus promised that He would not leave you alone to live the Christian life. He promised to send a personal and able Helper.
“I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”
~ John 14:25-26
Perhaps you have heard of Him. Maybe, in one way or another, you have seen Him work. And it is quite possible that you have felt Him, even if you didn’t realize that it was He. But whether you are familiar or unfamiliar with Him, it is my passion to tell you more about Him.
In this book, I will tell you of my experiences with the Spirit. I will also tell you what I have come to know about Him through scripture. We will explore the Holy Spirit as a personal Being, a Being just as divine as the Father and the Son. You will discover His nature, purpose and ability. In learning of Him, you will also come to better understand your very own identity and nature. For how you and the Holy Spirit interact with one another is the entirety of your spirituality.
It’s time to move beyond confusion, frustration and failed effort. The Holy Spirit doesn’t just make your Christianity possible but also enjoyable. The Holy Spirit is a Friend to all who desire to become more like Jesus. He pledges no exclusive allegiance to any one denomination or varied Christian culture. Neither has He reserved His companionship for the spiritually elite, if ever there was such a faction.
Yes, the elating reality is that His friendship is for all who bow to Jesus as Lord. The Spirit’s presence abides wherever there is a love for Christ, and He cultivates that love to greater measures. If the name of Jesus is on your mouth, if a love for Christ rests in your heart, then the Spirit’s presence belongs on your life. For no single person is more passionate about Jesus than the Holy Spirit. He will reveal Christ with such clarity that the reality of the Savior will grow with vivid intensity. He makes Jesus more real and draws you closer to God than you ever imagined possible. The Holy Spirit forms Jesus before the eyes of your heart, making Him more real to you than your own flesh.
Your friendship with Him will give you everything that you need to be, do and have all that God desires. He will help you to pray more powerfully, worship more sincerely, love more truly, serve more effectively, understand scripture more deeply and live your life more spiritually. Whatever your issue, question, concern or struggle—He will personally see to it that you are guided in the right direction.
But the Holy Spirit isn’t looking to check into a hotel. He’s looking to buy a house. He’s not looking for a visit. He’s looking for a residence. You are His dwelling place. He is attentive and relevant to your every moment. You can go to Him when you’re sad, when you’re happy, when you’re frustrated, when you’re mad. He can be the first to greet you in the morning, and the One Who hears your final thoughts of the day.
Talk to Him about your desires and your dreams, your fears and your failures. Speak with Him about the people in your life, from old friends to new acquaintances. Let Him guide your conversations, your plans and your decisions.
And as it goes with conversation, He is disturbed by neither the trivial nor the significant. Though magnificent, He is approachable. In whatever you involve Him, you honor Him, and you welcome His voice, His perfect instruction.
And, through friendship with the Spirit, you will know God in greater measures.
“But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.”
~ 1 Corinthians 2:10
The Holy Spirit has divine insight to the mind of God, and He shares those secrets with you. The Scripture elaborates on this profound truth.
“No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.”
~ 1 Corinthians 2:11-12
Your spirit knows you best, and God’s Spirit knows Him best. The Spirit of God communicates with your spirit. That is how we come to discover divine depths.
So it is by the Spirit that we come to know God. The Holy Spirit is the Keeper and Giver of God’s secrets. Only those who are in fellowship with the Spirit can be entrusted with such precious insight.
For secrets are not shouted; they are whispered.
To hear a whisper, one must be near. So if you are near to the Spirit, a friend of the Spirit, you will come to appreciate and know God more intimately than ever before. With confidence, you will hear His voice. With love, you will live in His holiness. With power, you will walk in His miraculous ability.
I pray that this book would give you information, inspiration and impartation.
As you are committed to becoming a friend of the Holy Spirit, you will also become a carrier of the Glory.
A Friend of the Spirit,
David Diga Hernandez