The Holy Spirit is our constant Companion, closer to us than anyone else in this world! Our beloved Companion, the Spirit of God, is everywhere and also within us.
“Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in She’ol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast,” (Psalm 139:7-10).
We have a beloved Companion who is everywhere, a present help in all our troubles.
Who do you think has created you? The usual answer is, “God!” We know God is One and yet, also three Persons. But which Person of the Trinity created you?
When asked like this, some might say, “The Father,” while others might say, “Jesus.” But the Bible tells us that it is the Holy Spirit who has created us!
“The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4).
It was the Spirit of God that made us. “For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb,” (Psalm 139:13). We were intricately woven in secret by the amazing Holy Spirit.
“On you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother’s womb…” (Psalm 71:6).
A Personal Encounter with the Holy Spirit
In 1997, I received a prophetic revelation from the Spirit of the Lord during a prayer meeting. The message was, “When you were born and lying in a cradle, and your mother had undergone an operation and was lying in bed, you started crying. Your mother could not do anything as she could not get up. I came to you, lifted you in My hands, and you stopped crying!” I had no idea this was a real-life event that had happened to me.
A few weeks later, while returning from SCB Medical College with my mother, she shared something that startled me. She said, “I had undergone a caesarian operation, and you were lying in the cradle. You started crying, and as I could not get up, I also started crying. Then, a woman came and took you in her hands, and you stopped crying.” I was amazed because this was exactly what I had heard from the Lord prophetically! The Holy Spirit had prompted my mother to share this incident.
Years later, when I reflected on both the prophetic words and my mother’s account, I understood why the Lord had revealed these things to me. He knew I would be leaving Odisha, my printing press, relatives, friends, and our parish, to live in a distant place for a long period. And He wanted to assure me that He cares and will continue to care.
Guided by the Spirit to a New Path
When I arrived at the Divine Retreat Centre in Kerala, my original plan was to spend a week in a 24-hour prayer group. With a letter from my parish priest, Fr. Bijoy Nayak, I approached Fr. Augustine Vallooran VC, the Director of the English Section, and expressed my desire to join the prayer group. He directed me to Br. Ani George in the Malayalam Section, as there was no 24-hour prayer group in the English Section.
After joining Gethsemane, I felt the Lord prompting me to stay longer. I canceled my return ticket and sent a telegram to my father, informing him of my decision to extend my stay.
As I prayed fervently to know God’s plan, one night around ten o’clock, while heading to the dormitory through the main auditorium, I felt the tangible presence of the Holy Spirit. The next day, passing through the Malayalam auditorium, I felt the same presence and heard the words, “Wait with a thanksgiving heart.” So, I stayed at Divine. Initially, I thought it would be for a few months, but each year, I believed, “This year the Lord will take me back to Odisha!” And yet, seventeen and a half years passed.
The Spirit’s Faithful Presence
Throughout those years, the Holy Spirit has been with me. He has been my constant Companion, guiding me through all my ups and downs.
I found solace in the Spirit of the Living God.
I found strength in the Spirit of the Living God.
I found power in the Spirit of the Living God.
When you think no one cares, the Holy Spirit is with you for companionship. He will never leave you nor forsake you.
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you,” (John 14:16-17).
In the New Testament, He has come to stay in us and be with us forever. Through the pages of this blog, you will learn that He comes to indwell in us, to abide in us—permanently.
