Exodus 33:11 And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
God has always looked into the hearts of His children; but God would not enter the hearts and minds of less than perfect humans until after the death and resurrection of Christ. Before Christ, God would not comfort His children with the gift of His Holy Spirit.
Ecclesiastes 4:1 So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.
Lamentations 1:16 For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me: my children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed.
After the resurrection of Christ, humans became worthy to commune with God. The flesh is still not worthy to commune with God. When we allow our spirit of love to fill our consciousness we temporarily achieve perfection, and we are worthy to commune with God because now our spirit will be judged separately from the flesh. We must achieve the perfect love of true prayer in order to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit of God.
John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
John 7:38-39 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
In the repentance of true prayer we may feel a presence; we may feel a sense of forgiveness. Most certainly this presence is the Holy Spirit of God. This reassurance we are redeemed comes from God, but when Christians feel this reassurance they often falsely believe they have earned forgiveness because of the repentance. Thereafter, they do not often repent when they pray. Instead of humility Christians will sometimes pray with pride and self-righteousness in their hearts.
If we feel exalted in prayer we are not being led by the Holy Spirit. Christians sometimes express that prayer is never as good as it was the first time they felt the Spirit which means they no longer achieve true prayer as they did at one time. The feeling is different; the sensation is different; the spirit is different because they are being led by a different spirit.
After a child of God achieves true prayer for the first time, after he feels the presence of the true and perfect Holy Spirit, Satan will later enter his heart and sometimes the Christian will be deceived. Anyone who believes he is doing the Lord a favor, anyone who believes he is adding souls to Heaven, anyone who believes he is above others in the eyes of God is being led by Satan. It is no great thing to say that Christians are influenced by Satan since we are all influenced by Satan. We rarely, if ever, truly rid ourselves of all evil and achieve true pray. If we have not purged ourselves of all evil, if there is any selfishness, self-righteousness or hostility within us, then we can not be in true pray; and any spirit we feel can not be the Holy Spirit of God since God is repulsed by evil.
Christians often pray with their hands raised in the air. They feel a presence, and they feel the glory of their own righteousness. Satan even answers their prayers of greed and ambition, yet God is Love, and only when we achieve the great Love of true pray are we worthy to commune with the true Holy Spirit. There
is no greed in prayer just as there is no lust or hatred in prayer.
Satan will sometimes convince Christians they are better than others; he convinces them God loves them more than others. Satan convinces them they have been eternally
saved by their own choice while others are bound for eternal torment. The spirit of Satan may convince them they can eternally
save others as if they are partners with the Great and Righteous God of Heaven who created all things and Personally redeemed His own children. Satan most certainly does impersonate the Holy Spirit; and by impersonating the Holy Spirit, Satan has blasphemed the Holy Spirit.
Mark 3:28-29 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
Christians are led to believe false doctrines. Christians have even committed sins and violence believing they are doing the will of God. Christians who believe that only Christians are going to Heaven may still go to Heaven; but they need to realize they do not have a monopoly on the Love of God. They need to realize God is a God of Great Love and Mercy.
When we pray, when we preach, it is important to be able to distinguish between the true Holy Spirit of God and the false sense of self-righteousness which comes from Satan. Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy soul, and love thy neighbor as thyself; this is the true Spirit of God. When the real Holy Spirit is in your heart this Love for God and love and forgiveness for others is what you feel.
Matthew 6:11-12 Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Real communion with God does not include a feeling of self-righteousness. What it does include is love and genuine repentance. Repent...(in order to enter) the kingdom of heaven [which is] at hand (or here and now). Prayer always includes repentance even after doing it five thousand times. When Christ instructed His followers on how to pray the example he provided included repentance. God is repulsed by evil including that part of us that is evil. Except for when we lay aside our hostility and selfishness the infinitely Loving and Righteous God of Heaven is repulsed by us. This is not to say that God is against us, but that evil is like nails on a chalkboard to the Infinitely Righteous God of Heaven. We must fill our hearts with love and forgiveness, and since all of us are less than perfect as long as we are in the flesh we must always ask for forgiveness in the presence of the infinitely Righteous Holy Spirit of God. Every prayer can be, and every real prayer should be, as good as it was the first time.
Satan's spirit of self love produces self-righteousness in humans just like it produces selfishness, but there is no sin on Satan's part just by bringing his spirit into the world. Satan misleads Christians, and he blasphemes the Holy Spirit, but he does this by playing the role of the Holy Spirit, not by openly telling a lie. Satan is not condemned under the Law by these actions.