Come, Holy Spirit
Before We Gather by Zach Hicks
| Scripture
Read Ephesians 5:18-21
| Devotion
The question sometimes gets asked, “If the Holy Spirit is present everywhere, why do some Christians pray and sing to invite the Holy Spirit’s presence among them in worship?” Why would we ask God to be where he already is?
There’s good reason why for centuries Christians have been inviting the Holy Spirit to be among them. It’s an ancient worship practice called invocation. The early church often invoked the presence of the Holy Spirit before ordaining a minister. The Reformation church invoked the Spirit before the reading and preaching of the Scriptures. Eastern Orthodox Christians invoke the Holy Spirit during communion. And Pentecostal Christians invoke the Spirit for singing.
And they’re all right.
The evidence of the Bible around all these practices tells us that God’s special presence comes as we do these things (Matt. 3:13-17; Ezek. 37:1-10; Luke 24:30-32; Eph. 5:18-21). But that still doesn’t answer our question. What are we doing when we ask an omnipresent Spirit to be present among us, to visit us, or to “come and fill this place”?
Ephesians 5 helps us. The Scriptures make it clear elsewhere that we can’t flee any where that the Spirit is not (Ps. 139:7-12). But here in Ephesians, we hear the apostle Paul commanding the Ephesian Christians, who are already filled with the Holy Spirit, to “be filled with the Spirit” (v. 18). The Scriptures teach clearly that when repentant sinners come to faith, they are immediately indwelled by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38-39; 1 Cor. 12:13; Rom. 8:9; Eph. 1:13 14). But when Paul commands us to “be filled,” he is talking about something different. Beyond the permanent presence of the Holy Spirit, to “be filled” with the Spirit is to receive a unique manifestation of his presence and power.
Though we’re not quite sure how it all works-nor do we need to be sure we know enough to say that the Spirit, who is always present, becomes more tangible to us. Our eyes are more open to and aware of his movements for specific purposes. When the Spirit comes in special and powerful ways, we could say that the Spirit’s presence, which is always there, is manifested uniquely and our spiritual senses are quickened to notice it.
In Ephesians 5, we see that the Spirit manifests himself for specific purposes in the worshiping assembly, evidenced in all those “ing” verbs-addressing, singing, making melody, giving thanks, and submitting (vv-19-21). So in worship, we should be on the lookout for the Spirit’s unique work in all these things, among the other things we’ve already mentioned, such as preaching and communion, and even baptism.
We shouldn’t shy away from this strange and wonderful Christian practice of invocation. And here’s the payoff: When the Spirit comes and makes himself tangible to us, we can be sure that he comes to do everything the Scriptures tell us is true about him. The Spirit comes to help us understand the Word of God (John 16:13). The Spirit comes to lead us into confession by convicting us of our sin and need for Jesus (John 16:8). The Spirit comes to apply Jesus to our wounds and make him more beautiful and believable to us than we ever could have imagined (Matt. 3:16-17). The Spirit comes to help us feel the Father’s pleasure in the Son (Mark 1:11). The Spirit comes to help us fearlessly pray to God (Rom. 8:15). And when we don’t know how to pray, the Spirit comes to pray for us (Rom. 8:26). The Spirit comes to remind us of our identity as adopted daughters and sons (Rom. 8:15-17). The Spirit comes to remind us that we have a promised resurrection, eternal life, in Jesus (Rom. 8:11).
With all these benefits and promises, what can we do but come with joy and expectation? So by all means, ask, seek, and knock. Pray to the Spirit and hold him to his word and promises. Ask him to come. And then watch out!
| Prayer
Aim your prayers in this direction:
- Pray multiple prayers of invocation over your worship time today. Ask specifically for the Holy Spirit to come and do the various things we’ve listed.
- Pray for worshipers, as well, to be prepared, attuned, and ready to encounter and respond to the presence and power of the Spirit.