Daily Bread 2010 - Ephesians 3
A Prayer for the Ephesians
14For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
At the end of chapter 3 we get a glimpse of Paul’s prayer life. As we look at all Paul endured and accomplished we can see where Paul got his source of strength from. We can see that Paul turned to Christ for the His source of his power and love. As you go deeper into this prayer you see the rich well from which Paul drew his spiritual strength.
And it begins with kneeling before the Father. There is something that happens when we physically kneel before the Maker of heaven and earth. First of all it shows that we are humbled and it acknowledges God’s holiness and power. When we put our body in a position to acknowledge this, our mind and spirit follows.
At the heart of Paul’s prayer is that out of God’s riches and strength the Ephesians might find their strength. He realized that it was God not Him who would be the key to their success. He knew that this love which is immeasurable would be more important than the intellectual knowledge they possessed. It is only as the Ephesians realized how deep and how wide God’s love was that they would be filled to the measure with the fullness of God.
Often we focus on external things as a measure of spiritual maturity, when in reality the true source of strength as a believer comes when we are filled with the love of God. It is only then that God’s power can be unleashed in our lives. As the popular praise song a while back said, “More love, more power, more of you in my life.”
How much does God have of you? When is the last time before you knelt before the Lord, Your God, Your Maker? Do you feel sapped of energy and strength? On empty? How do you refuel with God’s love the source of all spiritual strength? What are the obstacles? Busyness? Doing things for God rather than spending time being with God and basking in His love?
Do we realize how much more we can do as we allow the immeasurable love of God to fill our hearts and minds in Christ?
Father, we kneel before you today. You are our maker and redeemer and the source of all that is good within us. Open our hearts to be filled with the full measure of who you are so we can be conduits of your love and power to the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
14For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
At the end of chapter 3 we get a glimpse of Paul’s prayer life. As we look at all Paul endured and accomplished we can see where Paul got his source of strength from. We can see that Paul turned to Christ for the His source of his power and love. As you go deeper into this prayer you see the rich well from which Paul drew his spiritual strength.
And it begins with kneeling before the Father. There is something that happens when we physically kneel before the Maker of heaven and earth. First of all it shows that we are humbled and it acknowledges God’s holiness and power. When we put our body in a position to acknowledge this, our mind and spirit follows.
At the heart of Paul’s prayer is that out of God’s riches and strength the Ephesians might find their strength. He realized that it was God not Him who would be the key to their success. He knew that this love which is immeasurable would be more important than the intellectual knowledge they possessed. It is only as the Ephesians realized how deep and how wide God’s love was that they would be filled to the measure with the fullness of God.
Often we focus on external things as a measure of spiritual maturity, when in reality the true source of strength as a believer comes when we are filled with the love of God. It is only then that God’s power can be unleashed in our lives. As the popular praise song a while back said, “More love, more power, more of you in my life.”
How much does God have of you? When is the last time before you knelt before the Lord, Your God, Your Maker? Do you feel sapped of energy and strength? On empty? How do you refuel with God’s love the source of all spiritual strength? What are the obstacles? Busyness? Doing things for God rather than spending time being with God and basking in His love?
Do we realize how much more we can do as we allow the immeasurable love of God to fill our hearts and minds in Christ?
Father, we kneel before you today. You are our maker and redeemer and the source of all that is good within us. Open our hearts to be filled with the full measure of who you are so we can be conduits of your love and power to the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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