How Do We Connect with Holy Spirit? We Practice! Ephesians 3: 14-21

Holy Spirit 101 continues! Today’s question is this: how exactly do we connect with Spirit? Even if Holy Spirit dwells within us, as we discovered last week, how do we make the connection between Holy Spirit and our bodies & minds real? One that actually makes a difference in our lives? We turn to scripture to understand how we strengthen the connection between Holy Spirit and our hearts.

Ephesians 3:14-21 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
So how do we strengthen our inner being with power through Holy Spirit?
Eugene Petersen, the pastor who also wrote the paraphrased version of the Bible called The Message, says this of the Christian walk, “It’s a long and intricate and daily business to be formed in the likeness of Christ. We practice habits of the heart that change spirituality from a wish or a desire into an actual life lived to the glory of God. A phrase from a Wendell Berry poem gives focus to this. He says we “practice resurrection.”  Even if we haven’t yet journeyed to the empty tomb this year, we embrace Lent as resurrection people. And people who believe in resurrection are also compelled toward lives of prayer.
That’s what makes our connection to Holy Spirit real- we “practice resurrection” when we believe that something in us changes when we pray. That we can really connect with the God who put breath in our lungs; that breath itself is a form of prayer, because it’s confirmation of divine life beyond our comprehension. I trust you (at some point in your life) have believed in the power of prayer, because you are in worship today. And what is worship, if not a time of public prayer? Of communal breathing in the goodness of God? Even so, our journey’s with Christ extend beyond Sunday mornings, yes? And if that’s true, we need to build the chops for prayer as individuals as well. Are you ready to connect more deeply with Spirit in your soul? Me too. So let’s practice!

Prayer can be as simple as paying attention to your own breath. It can also be thoughtful listening to scripture. Prayer may take shape in loving and open conversations with others. Prayer may be a simple word of thanks. Prayer can be scripted, like sharing The Lord’s Prayer together, or it might be the “Lord Help Me” whispers in a tender moment of struggle. Prayer is SO many things, and I want to affirm there’s no “right” way to pray, so long as what you’re doing connects you in love to God, your neighbors, and your very selves. I don’t know about you, but I also enjoy being guided into prayer by another. So this morning, I’d like for us to practice a way of praying that might be new to many of you. It can be practiced together, but it’s also something you can do pretty easily at home, grab a bible or even your smart phone, look up a favorite passage, and dive right into: 
Lectio Divina (pronounced lex-ee-o d-veena) is an ancient practice of reading Scripture as prayer. Lectio divina is a Latin term that literally means sacred or divine (divina) reading (lectio). We read Scripture, not in order to know more stuff, but in order to know Jesus Christ in the intimacy of a personal loving relationship that will transform our life. The goal, in other words, is formation rather than information.
Four movements: 1. Lectio (reading) 2.  Meditatio (Meditation) 3. Oratio (Oral Response) 4. Contemplatio (Contemplation- a wordless, quiet rest in the presence of the one who loves us)
Settle yourself, perhaps close your eyes, take a deep breath.
1.     A word or phrase that catches your attention.
Ephesians 3:14-21 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Read; Pause; Ask for response; quiet rest
2.  Imagine yourself in this story, hearing Paul speak directly to you, as you sit on a hillside among other eager listeners.
Ephesians 3:14-21 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Read; Pause; Ask for response; quiet rest
3.     Listen for a word the Lord is speaking to you directly through this story.
Ephesians 3:14-21 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Read; Pause; Ask for response; quiet rest
May you practice delighting in Holy Spirit that lives within you, speaking words of life and healing and wholeness- forever and ever. Amen.