Another Prayer of Paul's

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Today’s reading is another prayer from Paul. If you missed it, I preached last Sunday on the way Paul prays for his churches—it’s very different from how we pray!

 
 
 

Today’s Reading: Ephesians 3:14-21

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.

 
 

The NIV footnote is helpful in understanding verse 15: “The Greek for family (patria) is derived from the Greek for father (pater).”

Paul’s making a pun to make his point: all the peoples on earth are actually members of one human family, with one heavenly father.

 
 

16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

 
 

  • Paul prays that God would strengthen the Ephesians so that their trust increases so much it’s as if Christ is as close as possible to them.

  • Then, once love is their foundation, he prays that God would give them the spiritual power to experience and know the love of Christ.

  • (Note how again Paul is praying that the come to know God better. Of all the things he could pray for, this is what he chooses. There’s a lesson there for us.)

  • And the purpose of this knowledge? So that they may be filled up as full as possible. In other words, the purpose is to make them different kind of people.

 
 

20 Now 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, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

 
 

I love the literal sense of what Paul says here:

God can do more than which we can possibly conceive.

How cool is that?!

Don’t limit what God can do today!