Learning to Expect God’s Presence

In Acts 19, Paul arrives in Ephesus, meets a group of believers, and asks them a surprising question:

“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
(Acts 19:2)

Their answer is even more surprising:

“No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

For many Christians — especially in traditions like ours — this hits uncomfortably close to home. We believe in the Holy Spirit. We confess the Spirit weekly. We pray for the Spirit’s presence. But if we’re honest, we don’t always expect the Spirit to move.

Some church traditions come to worship with a posture of anticipation — looking for God to stir, convict, comfort, empower, and surprise. Others (including many Reformed believers) come with strong theology but low expectation.

We trust the Spirit, yet we’re cautious about experience.
We believe in God’s power, yet we brace ourselves for the ordinary.

But Acts 19 reminds us that the Christian life was never meant to be merely intellectual or liturgical. It is meant to be Spirit-empowered, Spirit-filled, and Spirit-dependent.

Believing in the Spirit vs. Yielding to the Spirit

There is a difference between believing about the Spirit and living with the Spirit.

We don’t use the Holy Spirit. We instead yield, surrender, and trust.

Jesus promised the Spirit not as a force, but as a Person — one who guides, convicts, comforts, and empowers. The Spirit is not a spiritual “battery” but the very presence of God dwelling with us and in us.

To treat the Spirit as a power source is to reduce God to a tool.
To treat the Spirit as a Person is to welcome God Himself.

Holy Expectation, Not Emotional Manipulation

Some hear calls for “expecting the Spirit” and think of hype, frenzy, or emotional manufacturing. But biblical expectation isn’t performance — it’s posture.

It sounds like:

• “Lord, you are here.”
• “You love to move in your people.”
• “I am open to whatever you want to do.”
• “Your presence matters today.”

We aren’t demanding fireworks.
We are simply refusing to settle for self-sufficiency in worship or in life.

Why Many Believers Miss the Spirit

Often we are unaware not because God is absent but because we are:

• Distracted
• Self-reliant
• Suspicious of emotion
• Uncomfortable losing control
• More confident in planning than in prayer

What It Means to Receive the Spirit Today

The Spirit still:

• Awakens faith
• Softens hardened hearts
• Illuminates Scripture
• Convicts of sin and heals wounds
• Strengthens the weak
• Unites the church
• Produces fruit not manufactured by effort
• Heals diseases
• Enables prophecy
• Empowers people to speak in tongues
• Empowers mission and witness

The Spirit is not an optional upgrade to Christianity.
The Spirit is the Christian life.

A Prayer of Yielding

Holy Spirit, we believe in You.
Help us expect You.
Not for emotional display,
but for genuine transformation.
Make us aware of Your presence,
dependent on Your power,
and open to Your movement.
Come, Holy Spirit.
We yield to You. Amen.

A Test for the Week

Ask yourself each morning:

“Am I operating by effort today, or by the Spirit?”

And ask again in moments of frustration, leadership, conflict, or parenting:

“Lord, what are You doing here — and how can I join You?”

Closing Thought

The question Paul asked still matters today:

“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

May we not only believe in the Spirit,
but live with the Spirit —
in worship, in community, in mission, and in everyday life.

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