John Stott writes, “What we need is not more learning, not more eloquence, not more persuasion, not more organization, but more power from the Holy Spirit.”

The day after my boy Simeon was born my parents came to visit. My Mum bought a present for our little girl Phoebe – a baby doll. On the packaging it said that when you squeeze baby Annabell she would giggle and laugh. Phoebe was beside herself with excitement. After taking an age to rip open the packaging we eventually got the doll out. Phoebe squeezed it,  but rather than Annabell giving off a cute giggle – she began to scream and cry.

The doll terrified Phoebe. For days she would go nowhere near it. After a while we began to explain that babies sometimes cry and when they do you need to give them a cuddle to comfort them. Eventually Phoebe got the hang of it and pretty quickly they became the best of friends - inseparable in fact!

You see this doll, was a great gift, given in love, that was misunderstood, becoming a source of fear and confusion. For some of us maybe the Holy Spirit has become like this for us. We don’t understand him – so we keep him at arms length. We've seen people at meetings responding in strange ways to the Spirit and are determined that this will never happen to us and so we don't fully let him in. Perhaps we assume that the Holy Spirit is only for the super Spiritual and are convinced that we don't fit into that category. And so we carry on trying to make an impact in our own strength. But it just doesn't work.

Our Heavenly Father has a good gift to give us. He has sent us the Holy Spirit to come alongside us. One of the words used to describe the Spirit is Paraclete – one who comes alongside giving comfort, strength, guidance, focus, clarity and vision. Isn’t that what we all desperately need? Theologian Oliver O’Donovan defines it as, “One who stands beside us to help, not one who seizes control and runs our lives without consulting us.”

There can be a danger in the church that we focus on the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. What it looks like. How people respond. Sometimes we get so hung up on this stuff that we forget that the Holy Spirit is a person who comes alongside us – to enable, empower and bless us.

I'm tired of trying to run this race alone. I don't want to miss out on the gift of the Holy Spirit. Everyday I want to pray the ancient prayer of the Church - 'come Holy Spirit.' As John 6:63 reminds us, 'The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing.' 

We have a choice. We can accept the gift that God is all too willing to bless us with. Or we can ignore this offer and continue on this walk of faith alone. Ultimately on our own the road will be exhausting, fruitless and frustrating. But with God's empowering Spirit it will be full of life and adventure. What's it to be?

"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"  (Luke 11:9-13)

I wonder what is it that often holds us back from following and keeping in step with the Holy Spirit?