A Prayer about Becoming Aware of the Spirit

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:31

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit,

Forgive us for failing to recognize 

and celebrate the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 

We are like “the husband in a bad marriage, 

living under the same roof as his wife, 

making constant use of his wife’s services, 

but failing to communicate with her, 

to recognize her presence, 

or to celebrate his relationship with her.”*

And yet, you, Heavenly Father, 

have chosen to communicate your presence 

in the Holy Spirit, 

so much so that David prayed, 

“Where shall I go from your Spirit? 

Or where shall I flee from your presence?” (Psalm 139:7).

And you, Lord Jesus, 

emphasized the necessity of the Spirit’s saving, 

helping, 

guiding, 

teaching, 

enlightening, 

comforting 

work in the lives of your disciples, 

saying things like, 

“And I will ask the Father, 

and he will give you another Helper, 

to be with you forever, 

even the Spirit of truth…” (John 14:17).

Assuring us, the Helper, the Holy Spirit…

”will teach you all things 

and bring to your remembrance 

all that I have said to you” (John 14:26).

You, Holy Spirit, teach us 

and fill us 

and change us, 

and intercede for us, 

making us ever more like our Savior, Jesus.

Even now, may we take a moment 

to rest from our praying 

and meditate on 

the wonder and power 

of your indwelling presence in our lives.

Amen.

Read John 14-16. 

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17

Lord, 

We believe; help our unbelief.

We believe you have already come into our midst 

in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

We believe you are a mighty one 

who has already saved us from our sins 

through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

But in the next line of this magnificent verse, 

we stutter and stumble. 

We think that maybe you will rejoice in us 

some day in the future 

when we are more holy, 

that you will love us 

some day in the future 

when we never sin again,

that you will exult in us with loud singing 

some day in the future 

when we’ve finally earned our way to heaven.

But that’s not what Scripture tells us.

The gospel good news 

for all who trust in Jesus

is that right this minute, 

you are rejoicing over us, 

right this minute

you are quieting us with your love, 

right this minute

and you are exulting over us with loud singing. 

You saved us. 

You love us. 

You delight in us. 

You sing extra-loud over us, 

like the five-year-old who loves to sing 

at the top of his lungs 

because he’s so happy. 

Help us today to sit quietly 

and listen for the sound 

of your delight in us, 

and may that delight 

change the way we live and love 

today and every day. 

In Jesus’ saving name. Amen.

Read Zephaniah 3:14-20.