#1435. I pray that Christ may dwell in your hearts (21/1/26)

Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional (posted, at present, every weekday) as we continue our Ephesians series: Ephesians - To the praise, for the purpose, in the power of God.

As we continue our reflections of Pauls prayer Ephesians 3:14-21, we see that:

The Holy Spirit gives true faith, and true faith experiences and submits to Jesus. 

To watch this devotional, please select the link below: 

1. Paul prays with an awareness of The Trinity

In this short prayer, Paul shows deep awareness of the Triune God:

Paul’s prayer reminds us that we speak to the one true God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It’s vital to think of, and talk to God according to His name and nature. 

2. The Spirit helps us to experience and know Jesus

In the previous devotional, we saw Paul pray for believers to be strengthened in their ‘inner being’ by the Spirit. Now we see the purpose of that strength:

The Spirit’s presence always leads to results - and one of the greatest is a deeper, living experience of Jesus Himself.

i. An experience of His presence. 

Paul is writing to Christians who already believe in Christ, yet he prays that Christ would dwell - live more fully - in their hearts. There are always deeper experiences of Jesus to seek.

The Holy Spirit makes the presence of Jesus real to us:

The Holy Spirit ‘testifies’ - martureó: bears witness, testifies, gives evidence - to our ‘inner being’ about Jesus.

The Spirit ‘testifies,’ giving inner witness and assurance of Christ’s reality. He is praying for the manifest - the experienced - presence of Jesus. We all know that there’s a massive difference between receiving a message of some sort from someone and actually meeting them. Reading a biography is very different from meeting the person. Likewise, Paul is praying for a meeting - an indwelling - of the presence of Jesus. In Colossians, he puts it this way:

ii. True faith in Jesus

Paul prays that ‘Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.’ True faith is not just agreement with facts - it is trust, dependence, and relationship.

As the Spirit strengthens our hearts, faith grows, and Jesus becomes more real, more precious, and more beautiful to us. His work on the cross fills our minds and hearts, and we begin to grasp more deeply His love:

True faith is living daily in the reality of His presence:

iii. Submission to Jesus

Paul prays that Christ would dwell - literally ‘make His home’  - in our hearts. When Christ makes His home in us, He begins to reorder everything according to His love and holiness. His presence fills our hearts - the place of our values, desires, and decisions - so that sin is displaced and obedience grows naturally from love.

This prayer for Christ’s indwelling presence becomes the foundation for the practical obedience Paul begins to describe in chapter 4.

Response

• Do I seek to experience the presence of Jesus, for myself and others, by asking for the Spirit’s power?

• Do I walk each day in faith - aware of the love and presence of Jesus within me?

• Am I allowing Christ to fill my heart and lead my life?

Christianity is not a philosophy, a moral framework or a ticket to life after death. Christianity is having Jesus, by the power of the Spirit, move in and live in our hearts. Let’s seek to experience Him’ let’s walk by faith in His presence; let’s make room for Him in our hearts. 

Community Group Notes

1. Notices

It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News. 

2. Icebreaker

How has God been speaking to you from His Word this week, and how has this helped you? 

3. Worship together

Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.

4. Study and pray together

Balanced Time Allocation - Please ensure a balanced focus on discussion, SIV (Serve, Invest, and Invite), and prayer so that each section is meaningful and fruitful.

On Sunday, we continued our new series entitled: Ephesians: to the praise, for the purpose, in the power of God. 

Please read Ephesians 3:14-21 and discuss:

• Personal Reflection – From Sunday’s message and this passage, what stood out to you? Was there anything the Spirit particularly impressed on your heart?

• One family, one identity - Paul speaks of the unity of all Christians—particularly Jews and Gentiles—through adoption into God’s family.

• Loving one another well - Paul prays that believers would be ‘rooted and established in love.’ In practical terms, how could we, as a CG, grow in love for one another?

• Learning to pray from Paul’s example - Ephesians 3:14–21 is a model prayer. What does this passage teach us about:

  • What we should pray for?

  • How our prayers should be shaped by who God is?

• God’s power at work in us - What do we learn here about God’s power and the work of the Holy Spirit in believers and in the church?

• Applying this to our prayer life - How might our personal prayers - and our prayers together as a CG and church - change if they more fully reflected the truths of this passage?

SIV (Serve, Invest, and Invite)

• Power and unity -  From our text, what can we learn about God’s power and our loving unity in regard to mission? 

• Sharing Stories – Have you had any recent opportunities to Serve, Invest, or Invite someone toward Jesus? Let’s encourage one another by sharing stories of how we’ve seen God at work through simple faithfulness.

• Practical Next Steps – Who might God be placing on your heart at this time? Are there any “people of peace” (see note) in your life—those who seem open, welcoming, or receptive to spiritual conversation?

Let’s Pray Together

Let’s pray for one another in light of what we’ve studied and bring any other needs before God.

• Pray for courage, wisdom, and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit in our Serve, Invest, and Invite opportunities.

• Pray specifically for the ‘people of peace’ in our lives - that God would open hearts and deepen relationships.

• Ask God to work through us by His power, so that others may come to know Christ.