My Spirited Response
This week’s conversation has been about the Holy Spirit: Should we pray to and/or worship the Holy Spirit?
Finally, my personal take. It might come across as rather diplomatic or even politically correct at times while being politically incorrect at others, but it is where I stand.
I have prayed “Holy Spirit, continue to guide us today” and other such prayers. I have said “Holy Spirit, you are amazing the way you work” and “Thank you for the connection with Christ” and things similar.
This makes it sound like I completely agree.
There are things such as “anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven” and “with the Father and with the Son he is worshiped and glorified” which are compelling.
There is also the fact that the Father and Son are in Heaven, but the Holy Spirit is among us. The Holy Spirit connects us to them, but we are to pray to the Father and in the name of Jesus.
This also raises the point of the Trinity. If the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all equally God in one being, then it would make sense to pray to and worship Him.
There are times it is definitely not okay, however.
I have been in churches who worship the Holy Spirit to the point of almost forgetting or even leaving out mention of the Father and/or the Son. I heard a preacher call it a “Holy Spirit fetish” and heretical. The Holy Spirit will always point towards the Son to glorify the Father. If this is not happening, then you are worshiping something not the Holy Spirit and caught in idolatry.
I have been in churches where prayers sound like a shopping list. If you are asking the Holy Spirit to work certain situations and/or people into ways that do not edify the church or are ungodly, you are caught in idolatry, using the Lord’s name in vain, and (honestly) selfishness.
It sure seems to me that the Holy Spirit is to be “worshiped and glorified”, but I would advise caution. Check your heart before moving forward. Make sure you are worshiping and glorifying in the proper manner. This is true for each member of the Trinity! Each can be twisted into evil dimensions and for ridiculous endeavors.
Just remember, our focus should be on bringing glory to God. If there is doubt, you are in dangerous territory. The things of God will always edify the Church, glorify the risen Son of God, and bring praise to God (each part/the whole).
a simple man of God 
Your take makes perfect sense. When I pray in the name of Jesus I can feel the strong presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit always guides me and seems to bring things to my remembrance without any effort at all.
I’m curious as to your take about mass-movements of the Holy Spirit such as: Slaying of the Spirit, Spirit of Laughter, and other mass events. I wrote a blog about this awhile back describing such events. Here is the link: http://bit.l/faqAjH
Blessings to you and yours my friend!
Mark
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It seems that you and I actually have a lot in common! I will answer more over at your blog, but I am a firm believer in the gifts of the Spirit and that they are still available today. I believe this through experience, both my own and others’. I know people in several other countries who are witnessing miracles and gifts of the Spirit manifesting on almost a daily basis.
As far as mass-movements go, I have been part of some of these in various locations across the US. I was sure they were good and of God.
However …
I have also seen that many of these events produce little to no fruit in the lives of many who are involved or in edifying the Church. Many times they have produced the opposite: they act as temporary spiritual highs which give false assumptions of what life is truly like and/or scare people (including some believers) away. This definitely points to being from somewhere else.
I have been a part of a few movements that started as teaching something that was not exactly scripturally accurate and eventually led to these kinds of manifestations. I am now convinced that most (not all!) are not mass-movements of the Holy Spirit but another spirit entirely.
I just may be doing a post about this very thing soon!
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Sorry bad link: http://bit.ly/faqAjH
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