There was a news report last week that there are millions of dollars in unclaimed Lotto prizes. This means that there are now people walking around who are legally very rich, but do now know it, and are not experiencing the benefits of it. That describes the situation of many Christians!

I was raised in a culture of Christian teaching that placed a great deal of emphasis on the grace of God towards us and the completeness of Christ's saving work for us. One of my favourite Bible verses was (and is) Ephesians 2:8 - "t is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no-one can boast."

According to what I was taught, everything that was necessary for my salvation had been done by Christ on the cross. All that I deeded to do to enter into the benefits of Christ's work was to repent of my sin and put my faith (trust) in Jesus. God, on His part, would then forgive and cleanse me from my sin, put his Holy Spirit within me and cause me to be born again., Through the Holy Spirit, I was taught, I would have power to live the Christian life and I would have Jesus living in my heart.

All this is in accord with what the Bible teaches, and is absolutely true. But, as I went on in the Christian life I began to realise it was not the whole truth. I was told that when I received the Holy Spirit at my conversion and Jesus came into my heart I had all of the Holy Spirit and all of Jesus. Therefore I did not need to have a second (or third) experience as was taught, for example, in the Pentecostal church. However, I recognised that my own experience of the power of the Holy Spirit and the presence of Christ within me was a long way from what the Bible suggested it should be, At times it was difficult to discern if the Holy Spirit or Jesus were there at all!

I thank God that in 1985 He allowed me to get to such a low place that I was willing to surrender my inhibitions and prejudices and I experienced His power and presence in a new way. Since that time, through many ups and downs, I have continued to grow in that experience. What I have realised is that there can be a real gulf between what is legally our position in Christ and what we actually experience.

Just like the unclaimed Lotto winnings referred to above, most of us are not experiencing the reality or the fullness of what is our legal entitlement as a Christian. (I am not in way endorsing Lotto! I believe that gambling in any form is wrong.) We need, in the realm of our experience, to know more of the power of the Holy Spirit adn the indwelling presence of Jesus Christ.

This, too, is taught in Scripture. I found it this week as I was looking afresh at Paul's prayer for the Christians in Ephesus, in the third chapter of his letter.

These were clearly born again Christians who had been saved by God's grace and sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13; 2:8). But Paul prays for them that they might be strengthened with power "through his Spirit" and that "Christ might dwell in their hearts through faith." (Eph 3:16,17). That is, even thought Paul could speak in glowing terms of their faith and love as Christians, he knew that they, like all of us, still needed to be "strengthened with power", and to experience more of the indwelling presence of Christ.

It is important to note that the pathway to this deeper level of experience is not through any spiritual exercise or religious performance. Paul knows that it comes as a gift of God, and so he makes it the object of his prayer. But, as with all of God's gifts, it is appropriated and experienced "by faith".

It is by faith that we open the door of our hearts to Christ and invite him to enter, not just as a visitor, but as a King. This is often a daunting prospect, as most of us have built tight walls of security around our hearts, to protect them. And many of us have areas of our hearts where painful memories or past sins are locked away and we are loath to revisit them, even with Jesus. But, by faith, we trust him to treat us with gentleness and so surrender the key.

It is by faith, also, that we experience more of the Holy Spirit's power in our lives. That comes firstly as we surrender our own desire to be "in control" and our own weak efforts to do things in our own strength. This can often leave us feeling very vulnerable but it is an essential step of faith, The power of God does not com to supplement our power, but to replace it. Then, by faith, we step out in obedience to do what God has called us to, knowing that unless God turns up we will fail. In my experience, the supernatural power of God does not usually come before we take that step, but as we step out for him.

Read Paul's prayer in Ephesians 3:16-21, and make it your own, praying that you might experience all the benefits that are yours in Christ.