Often in the Church there resounds the invocation to the Holy Spirit: Veni Creator Spiritus. . ., —“Come, O Creator Spirit, visit our minds, fill with your grace the hearts you have created.” – St. John Paul II, Letter to Artists
Our very word “inspiration” comes from the word “spirit.” Do you ask the Holy Spirit for help in your day? When I was a young girl studying for a test or trying to figure out my schoolwork, my mother would tell me to ask the Holy Spirit for help. I continue that tradition today, praying to the Holy Spirit before I begin writing or when I am trying to figure out a problem I can’t solve. I want any inspiration I may have to come from the One who is all good and possesses all wisdom.
Sometimes, the Holy Spirit works quickly, allowing me to understand something I couldn’t a few moments before or to see a new way to approach an issue, but inspiration doesn’t always come like a lightning bolt. Sometimes, it comes as a whisper. Sometimes, the only answer is silence. In those cases, we can feel confident that because we have asked for help, the Holy Spirit is with us as we give the task our best effort.
J. Scott McElroy is a Christian artist and writer. In Finding Divine Inspiration: Working with the Holy Spirit in Your Creativity, he shares that asking the Holy Spirit for help is more than a request for assistance with the task at hand. “It is also an act of surrendering our will, of letting God’s guidance and desires take precedence over our preferences and plans. It is humbling ourselves in a conscious attempt to learn to hear and to be led by His voice.” It is an act of humility. We want the work we are doing to be the work God wants us to be doing.
A challenge, especially in our noisy modern world, is to take the time and find the quiet to actually listen for the Holy Spirit speaking in our lives. There are so many other voices clamoring for our attention. When we have a free moment, our phones are always within reach, inviting us to check out social media or see what new texts or emails may have come in. On-demand programming means there is always something we could be watching. Do we make the time to set the technology aside and pray? Can we quiet the voices in our head to listen for the Word of God?
Prayer
Dear Holy Spirit, please be with me this day. Help me to make listening to your voice in my life a priority. Help me to do the work God wants me to accomplish.
Action
When you have a free moment today, resist the urge to grab your phone or turn on the television. Instead, spend a few moments in quiet prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to guide your day and help in any creative projects you may be undertaking.
This is an excerpt from The Work of Our Hands. (Amazon affiliate link)
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