Day 9: Reward and Hosting God’s Holy Spirit

Welcome to Day 9 of Morning and Night: 21 Days of Praying for Your Ministry! Today, in the morning, we are praying and believing for REWARD–for “He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him“! (See Hebrews 11:6 NKJV).

In the evening, we are asking the Lord to allow us to host His precious Holy Spirit in an increased and tangible way.

Beloved, God’s Word is FULL of promises about God’s rewards for you.

Yes, of course we should seek Him just because He is worthy to be sought. He is always worthy! However, as part of the seeking, we have to believe everything He tells us about Himself. And His Word specifically tells us that, in order to please Him and approach Him, we MUST both have faith AND believe that He is our rewarder!

Look at what the Bible says in Hebrews 11:6:

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6 NKJV).

And look at these additional promises about reward:

Matthew 6:3: “But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly” (Matthew 6:3 NKJV).

Matthew 6:6: “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6 NKJV).

Matthew 6:17-18: “But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:17-18 NKJV).

Matthew 5:11-12: “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12 NKJV).

Even being kind to someone, and sowing into someone’s life, brings you a reward:

“He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.

And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward” (Matthew 10:40-42 NKJV).

And even loving and obeying (fearing in a holy way) God’s Word brings a reward:

Proverbs 13:13: “He who despises the word will be destroyed, but he who fears the commandment will be rewarded” (Proverbs 13:13 NKJV).

God’s Word is chock-FULL of reward. Hallelujah!

Do you believe the Word of God? If so, pray as follows and ask the Lord to reward you today:

• Tell the Lord that you come before Him in Jesus’ name.
• Confess to Him that you do believe He exists, and that He is a rewarder of ALL those–including you–who diligently seek Him. Thank and praise Him for being so kind as to reward you!
• Ask the Lord to help you seek Him diligently every day, even when ministry duties beckon. Plead the blood of Jesus over your priorities and time management, asking for His help to seek Him first and meet all His conditions for reward.
• Ask Him to help you get alone with Him daily, behind closed doors, to pray to Him in secret.
• Ask Him to reward you openly for your secret prayers.
• Ask the Lord to help you fast and pray as is pleasing to Him, and with a right heart.
• Ask the Lord again to reward you openly for your fasting.
• Thank the Lord for the privilege of having people revile you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for His sake.
• Pray that the Lord will help you rejoice and be glad, even in the face of persecution.
• Ask the Lord for the great reward in Heaven that He promises.
• Point out to the Father all the times that you have sown into a prophet or a righteous person because they are a prophet or righteous person, and ask Him to give you the prophet’s reward and the righteous person’s reward.
• Point out to the Father recent times when you have even blessed little ones (children, sad people, weak people, et cetera) with comfort or help. Ask Him to reward you for that.
• Ask Him to help you persevere and overcome, and to give you the rewards that He lists for overcoming and perseverance in Revelation chapters 2-3.
• Point out to the Lord that you do fear and love His Word and commandments, so He promises you reward even for that. Ask Him to bring you the rewards His Word promises for those things.
• Thank Him for His amazing generosity, and give Him all the praise!

In the evening, ask the Lord to allow you to host the manifest presence and work of His Holy Spirit in more tangible ways.

We often forget that there’s a difference between Holy Spirit being present–which He always is–and actually demonstrating His miracle-working, Jesus-glorifying power in visible ways.

He is always with you, and He lives inside you if you have given your heart to Jesus and made Jesus your Savior and Lord. And He is always working. However, there are times when His work is so obvious, and His glory unveiled to such a degree, that people cannot even stand up in His presence.

At the dedication of Solomon’s Temple, the glory of God–which includes the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit–was so tangible that the priests could not stand to minister.

We read this in the book of 1 Kings:

“And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord” (1 Kings 8:10-11 NKJV).

Do you desire to host the manifest presence of the Lord like that?

If so, read these Scriptures to build your faith:

Psalm 51:10-11: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:10-11 NKJV).

1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NKJV).

Ephesians 4:25-32: “Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.

Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:25-32 NKJV).

1 Thessalonians 5:16-22: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 NKJV).

1 Corinthians 14:39-40: “Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:39-40 NKJV).

Then pray very simply as follows:

• Thank the Lord for His presence, and the presence of His Spirit, dwelling in you.
• Thank Him for making your body His very Own temple.
• Ask the Lord to help you glorify Him in your body and in your spirit, which belong to Him.
• Pray for a new level of sensitivity to God’s Holy Spirit, so that you immediately discern anything that grieves Him (whether it’s your own sin or some outside stimulus in the environment, like evil things showing on TV).
• Ask the Lord to help you cherish and honor Him and His presence above all other things.
• Pray that you would never grieve the Holy Spirit of God.
• Ask the Lord to help you never to quench His Holy Spirit, but also to never get out of His divine order in the flow of His Spirit.
• Pray that God would move through His Spirit through you and your ministry more than He ever has before.
• Ask Him to get all the glory.
• Thank Him, and give Him all the praise!

Beloved, do you want to host the manifest presence of Holy Spirit more than ever before? Do you believe God for the rewards that He has promised as well? If so, leave a comment below!