Pray for the Spirit, not just any spirit but the Holy Spirit. This is what Jesus urges. “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (Luke 11:13). The Holy Spirit gives life. To be sure, you are alive. However, you may feel you are just existing. You get through one day only to have another come after it. The same troubles and the same heart aches are always there. Nothing seems to change for the better. You are one of the many persons “having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). There is nothing more pitiful.

The Holy Spirit changes how you see things around you. You may have the same troubles and discouragements but you also will have hope. The Bible declares, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope” (1 Peter 1:3). You will have hope because you will no longer be without God. For this reason, you need to pray for the Holy Spirit. He will change you on the inside. This is where change needs to come first, if you really want to find genuine hope.