Ephesians 3:14–19
Holy Spirit Presence
In Ephesians 3, Paul prays for the church in Ephesus with a kind of spiritual compassion that reveals how deeply he cares for them.
He’s writing from prison, yet he doesn’t dwell on his own problems.
Instead, his heart turns toward others — toward their needs, their growth, their strength, their experience of God’s love, and this is because Paul understands something essential about prayer: When we pray for others, we open ourselves to the quiet, steady work of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit carries our prayers, strengthens the people we pray for, and gently shapes us in the process.
This kind of prayer is how the Holy Spirit prepares a church for its mission.
Before God sends people out, God shapes their hearts.
Before God gives direction, God gives compassion.
Before God reveals the mission, God forms hearts guided by the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is why Paul’s prayer matters — and why our prayers matter too.
Paul begins, “For this reason I kneel before God.”
Kneeling is less about posture and more about perspective.
It’s Paul saying, “Holy Spirit, help me see beyond myself.”
Prayer does that.
It shifts our attention outward and helps us notice the people around us with hearts that are open and awake to God’s presence.
Most of us have stood in a long grocery store line and felt our inner peace evaporate.
We start analyzing the lanes like we’re running a logistics operation for Amazon.
But then something interrupts the irritation — a small nudge of awareness.
Perhaps we notice the parent juggling a toddler and a melting pint of ice cream, the cashier who looks like they’ve been on their feet since sunrise and the older man counting change slowly and carefully.
And suddenly the line becomes less of a personal inconvenience and more of a reminder that everyone around us is carrying something.
That shift — that softening — is the Holy Spirit at work.
And here’s the reason this matters for the church: A church that notices people is a church ready for mission.
Paul prays that believers would be “strengthened with power through the Spirit in their inner being.”
The Spirit strengthens us from the inside out — giving courage where there is fear, peace where there is turmoil, and steadiness where life feels uncertain.
Daniel, an engineer, was in the middle of his workday when his phone buzzed.
He expected a quick question or a calendar reminder.
Instead, it was a message from a coworker he respected but didn’t know well:
“Do you have a minute? I’m not doing well.”
He had deadlines.
He had meetings.
He had a sandwich waiting for him.
But something inside nudged him to step away.
So he walked outside, found a quiet spot, and called her.
She shared about a family crisis she’d been carrying alone.
Her voice kept catching — the way it does when someone has been strong for too long.
Before they hung up, Daniel said:
“I’ll be praying for you,” and he meant it.
Over the next few weeks, whenever he prayed for her — during his commute, while waiting for a meeting to start, even while standing in line for lunch — he felt that same quiet prompting to check in, to care, to hold her up before God.
Months later, when things finally settled for her, she said:
“Your prayers carried me.”
But Daniel realized something else too: the Holy Spirit had changed him.
He was more patient, more attentive, more aware of the hidden burdens people carry.
And this is why prayer matters for the mission of the church: The Spirit strengthens us so we can strengthen others.
A church that prays becomes a church that can carry people.
Paul prays that Christ would “dwell” in people’s hearts — not as a guest, but as someone who belongs there.
It is the Holy Spirit who makes Christ’s presence real, steady, and alive within us.
Nearly every workplace has that coffee machine — the one that rattles, groans, and sounds like it’s trying to communicate in Morse code.
And nearly every workplace has that person who knows how to coax it back into functioning.
One day the machine gave up entirely.
People gathered around it like it was a fallen friend.
Someone finally said, “We should call Sam — he understands this thing.”
Sam arrived, pressed two buttons, gave it a gentle tap, and suddenly the machine came back to life.
Prayer is a bit like that.
We’re not fixing people.
We’re not diagnosing their problems.
We’re inviting the Holy Spirit — the One who truly understands the human heart — to bring life where things feel stuck.
You know, a church where Christ dwells deeply is a church the Spirit can lead boldly.
Prayer roots us so the Spirit can move us.
Paul wants believers to grasp the vastness of Christ’s love — its width, length, height, and depth.
Only the Holy Spirit can teach us this kind of love.
Only the Spirit can stretch our empathy, soften our judgments, and open our hearts.
When I was young, I came across my mother’s prayer journal.
It wasn’t fancy — just pages filled with names and little notes. It was her way of keeping people close to her heart.
As I flipped through it, I suddenly saw the name of one of my friends: Jim.
Next to his name she had written, “Saw him at the grocery store today. He looked sad. Praying for him.”
Jim had no idea she had noticed him, but the Spirit had nudged her.
She prayed for me and my sisters every day.
She prayed for church members, neighbors, and people she barely knew but sensed needed care.
Looking back, I realize she wasn’t just keeping a journal — she was responding to the Spirit’s quiet promptings.
She was living out what Paul describes: Love notices.
Love remembers.
Love intercedes.
And here’s the reason this matters for the mission of the church: A church that loves like this becomes a church the community can trust.
Prayer grows that kind of love.
Paul ends by praying that believers would be “filled with all the fullness of God.”
That is the Spirit’s work.
The Spirit fills us with peace, courage, compassion, and strength — not just enough for ourselves, but enough to overflow into the lives of others.
And this is the heart of mission: A church filled with God’s fullness becomes a church poured out for the world.
Paul’s prayer shows us that intercession is never one sided.
When we pray for others:
• The Holy Spirit strengthens them.
• The Holy Spirit softens us.
• The Holy Spirit connects us.
• The Holy Spirit grows compassion in us.
• The Holy Spirit helps us see people with clarity and kindness.
Prayer is not about fixing people.
It is about joining the Holy Spirit in caring for them — and allowing the Spirit to shape us in the process.
The Spirit moves in them.
And the Spirit moves in us.
Often quietly.
Often gently.
But always faithfully — forming in us hearts guided by the presence of the Holy Spirit, hearts ready for God’s mission.
So here’s an invitation — simple, practical, and deeply connected to who we are becoming:
Let’s begin praying in three directions this week: for others, for our church, and for the needs of our community.
Why?
Because this is how the Holy Spirit prepares a church for mission.
Let’s start with one person the Spirit brings to mind.
Pray for their strength, their peace, their growth.
Then pray for our church — that the Holy Spirit would guide us, stretch us, and awaken us to the mission God is calling us toward.
And finally, let’s pray for our community — the people who live around us, the families who are struggling, the schools, the workplaces, the places where God is already at work long before we arrive.
We don’t need perfect words.
We don’t need a long list.
We just need willing hearts— hearts guided by the presence of the Holy Spirit.
And as we pray in these three directions, may we trust that the Spirit will do what the Spirit always does: open our eyes, soften our hearts, and reveal the mission God has placed right in front of us.
Because when a church prays like this — for others, for itself, and for its community — the Holy Spirit has room to move in ways we could never orchestrate on our own.
Will you pray with me?
Holy Spirit, thank you for the quiet ways you move among us. Teach us to pray with open hearts and attentive spirits. Strengthen those we lift before you, and strengthen us as we pray. Fill us with the love of Christ so that our lives reflect your grace in ordinary, everyday ways. Guide us this week as we pray for others, for our church, and for our community. Reveal your mission to us, and form in us hearts guided by your presence. Amen.
