Word of Salvation – May 2010

 

PRAYERS FOR A POWERFUL CHRISTIAN LIFE, Peter Smit

(Sermon 6 of a series on Ephesians, Series title – Ephesians: Portraits of the living church)

 

Ephesians 3

 

How’s your prayer life? Are you too busy to pray? Do you prefer action rather than talking to God?

Is prayer a routine ritual that does little to fan your spirit into flame? Do you wonder what to pray? Do you feel your prayers lack vitality?

 

Martyn Lloyd-Jones once wrote: “Prayer is beyond any question the highest activity of the human soul. Man is at his greatest and highest when upon his knees he comes face to face with God”.

 

He went on to say…

“It is the highest activity of the human soul, and therefore it is at the same time the ultimate test of a man’s true spiritual condition. There is nothing that tells the truth about us as Christian people so much as our prayer life. . . . Ultimately, therefore, a man discovers the real condition of his spiritual life when he examines himself in private, when he is alone with God. . .”

 

Scripture reading and prayer go together. When a heart is gripped by the word of God, prayer will flow out of that heart. Paul shows us this in Chapter 3.

Chapter 3:1 starts, the Paul then puts verses 2- 13 in brackets.

Paul then comes back to what he started with by saying in verse 14 ¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father

Paul preaches and then prays. Ask God to make these truths real in your heart, so that you will actually experience the power of these truths.

Paul builds on his prayer in Ephesians 1:17 that the…

God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

 

I spoke to someone recently who’s facing huge challenges and hurt.

I said, “All of our difficulties, struggles, doubts, confusion are answered by these two things. Getting to know God better and knowing ourselves better.”

 

For example: If you struggle with confidence, or anxiety, or fear, or self loathing, or doubt, or sin, or a negative disposition. The answer to your need comes in knowing God better and knowing what he has said about you and your need.

 

Paul understood that. That’s why he prayed for the church.

This is the second prayer in this letter. The first prayer was his response to Chapter 1:3-14’s account of all the spiritual blessings God has given us in Christ.

Now in Chapter 3:14 again he prays in response to all God has said and done.

Paul wanted people to understand in their hearts the power and fullness of these truths.

 

Ephesians 3:14-15

¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father,

Paul’s says he kneels before the Father.

In Paul’s day people didn’t usually kneel to pray, rather they stood to pray with arms extended to heaven.

Kneeling unusual – shows earnestness, deep humility, reverence, heartfelt intercession.

Jesus fell on his face before God at Gethsemane.

 

Paul kneeled before the source of all things. He kneeled before the Father.

Your identity as a Christian flows from your heavenly Father.

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

 

You are a Christian, part of a large family in heaven and on earth.

The church on earth is the known as the church militant – engaged in spiritual battle.

The church in heaven known as the church triumphant – they have entered their victory.

We are one church.

Paul prays to our Father God who is the source of everything.

says…¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches

 

Riches = abundance, great value, wealth, exceeding what is normal.

Glorious = splendor, brightness, radiance and glory, the absolutely perfect inward personal excellence of Christ; his majesty.

 

God has inexhaustible glorious riches to give to us.

When you pray to God you go to the source of all things wonderful, beautiful, glorious, pure, perfectly fitting the need that you have.

 

And his supply is not limited, it is unlimited. James says…

¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

 

Know this about God. Trust this about him. God has endless glorious riches to give to you.

If your prayer life lacks vitality then pray these three prayers Paul prays for a powerful Christian life in Chapter 3:14-21

Trust the one promise he gives on which to pray these prayers.

 

These prayers will change your life.

 

1. Pray that you might be strengthened with the Spirit’s inner power.

 

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.

 

Why do you feel frustrated, or angry, or fearful, or anxious, or hurt, or discouraged, or unsettled or any other thing that you’re feeling today? It could be circumstances, events, people – but they are all secondary issues.

 

The real issue is what is going on within you. In your inner being, what you think about these things, how you respond to these things.

 

Paul himself was imprisoned, chained, his circumstances were very bad, but he didn’t lose hope. He was strengthened within – why? Because he received the power of Christ dwelling in his inner being. So he prays that you might be strengthened with the Holy Spirit’s power within.

 

Why pray this? Isn’t every Christian filled with the Spirit?

Isn’t every Christian sealed with the Spirit? Yes. See Ephesians 1:13

But not every Christian is full of the Holy Spirit. That’s why apostles in Acts 6 said,

³ Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.

 

The indwelling of the Spirit happens by degrees. As we submit to God’s word, turn from sin, obey his word, seek Christ, earnestly desire him and pray for the infilling of his Spirit, our lives go on being filled with His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is self effacing. His role is to reveal Jesus into your heart.

 

That’s why Paul prays 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.

 

The Spirit of Christ brings Jesus to your heart. Jesus wants to dwell in you, to take up permanent residence. If you’re a believer you’ve been sealed with the Spirit of Jesus.

But you need to go on being filled with the Spirit. That’s what Paul says in Eph 5:18 Be filled with the Spirit.

 

If you feel distant from God, powerless, if you struggle sensing the presence and peace of Christ in your life, pray this prayer.

Ask God, pray that you might be strengthened with the Spirit’s inner power.

 

2. Pray that you might have power to know Christ’s love.

 

Why do trees and tree limbs fall?

One of the common reasons for trees falling over or dropping limbs, they get diseased within. Fungus or rot sets in. Don’t see it on the outside, but within the core it eats away. Weakens the branch or root, till all you’ve got is a hollow shell. Then storms come, or you get really hot days and extreme heat, with internal health of tree affected, the tree limb or tree itself falls and often does a lot of damage.

 

Recently I heard of a young Christian man active in his church, who recently married, but then left his wife, left his church, left his faith and took up with another woman. Why? Rot had set in on inside. He was going through motions, all looked well but internally there was no strength, no power to withstand the storm. When temptation or crisis hits, or when people face a lot of heat, Satan deceives them and they fall and the damage is huge. Reputations lost, people hurt, the gospel witness damaged and lives left in tatters.

 

Why does this happen? A core reason is that people get disconnected from the love of Christ. So they go searching for love in all the wrong places. Their roots get eaten away – and they fall. Outwardly everything looks good. But inwardly they’re empty shells.

 

That’s why Paul prays.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love , ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge.

 

Paul is saying:

I pray that like a tree, your roots will grip securely in God’s love

Or like a huge bridge spanning a vast harbour, I pray your foundation stones, your support, might be the love of God. He prays you’ll be grounded in God’s love.

 

You can only be strong stable and secure as a Christian as long as you are rooted and grounded in Christ’s love.

 

The word for love here is quite well-known = agape. God’s unconditional, sacrificial love that reaches out to undesevering people.

 

Romans tells us that
God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

 

The Spirit pours out Christ’s love into our hearts. That’s why Paul prays this prayer.

It is vital to the life of the church you grasp the love of Christ in your heart.

He prays that you

¹⁸ may have power, together with all the saints,

 

Christ’s love is not just for individuals, His love is for us to grasp together with all the saints, the church. That as Christ’s body we together, we will experience his love in us.

 

Pray for power to grasp Christ’s love in all its full dimensions.

to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

To know that Christ’s love is broad enough to reach out to all humanity Jews and Gentiles

It’s long enough to last into eternity,

It’s deep enough to reach to the most degraded sinner

It’s high enough to lift that sinner into heaven and enthrone them victoriously with Christ.

 

In other words God’s love, Christ’s love has no limit.

Paul’s praying that you will know this limitless love that surpasses knowledge.

That you will begin to comprehend that which is beyond comprehension.

That you will truly know how loved you are.

 

Do you know that? Do you reflect on and know deep in your heart just how much God loves you? Our hearts need regular filling with love. Like petrol tanks we run dry.

You and I need to pray for his regularly,

Say “Fill me with the knowledge of your love Lord. Help me forsake the wrong sources of love and seek your love only. Give me power to know your love daily. Reveal it to me.”

 

Pray that you might have power to know God’s love.

 

3. Pray that you might be filled with God’s fullness.

 

Paul prays…

that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

 

You can understand this in either of two ways.

First it could be God’s fullness in the abundance of grace that God can give us.

Fullness of all God’s blessings and provision.

Or

It can be understood as the fullness which fills God himself.

In other words “God’s perfection”.

This second meaning is the meaning that Paul is praying for here.

NASB translates it literally. Ephesians 3:19

that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

 

Paul is praying for God’s perfection to increasingly fill your life.

That his moral perfection, holiness will be in you.

That the perfection of his thinking, his righteousness would be in you.

That the perfection of his love, his grace would be in you.

That the perfection of his mercy, his forgiveness would be revealed in you.

 

That God’s fullness day by day, will increase so you become like Jesus.

Like John Baptist said, “he must become greater, I must become less”.

If you look back over the last 6 months have you become less and has Jesus become more. Are you becoming more like God? Is God’s fullness filling your life?

 

This can only come when you draw near to God.

Did you notice that this prayer is all about the triune God at work in you?

Paul prays for

Spirit within—for strength

Christ within—for love

God within—for fullness

 

What would your life be like if daily you received the strength of the Spirit, daily you were experiencing Christ’s love within, if every day God’s fullness was growing in you.

The love and grace of Christ would impact your family, fill your speech.

Love would increasingly replace anger,

hope would increasingly replace fear,

trust would increasingly remove anxiety,

a positive spirit would increasingly replace a negative one.

 

But more importantly – when the storms come, the trials, the temptations and lure of sin and evil, you would be given strength to stand strong, because Jesus Christ’s Spirit is at work in you. Jesus will keep you strong, firm and steadfast.

 

And just to round off his prayer and seal its power to your heart,

Paul gives us a promise in his closing praise of God.

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.

 

God is able to do immeasurably more, far more abundantly beyond, exceedingly, abundantly above all that you can ask and imagine.

When you pray to him there is no limit to what he can do in you and through you.

And he has the power to surprise you with much, much more than you could possibly dream.

 

Church, this is God’s truth. So let us pray this prayer.

To be strengthened with the Spirit’s power.

To have power to know Christ’s love

To be filled with all God’s fullness.

Use this prayer, make it your model prayer .

Pray it regularly for yourself, your family and your church.

 

Because as we pray this –

 

Jesus Christ will be glorified in his church throughout all generations forever and ever and ever Amen.