Praying with Power
EPHESIANS 1:15-23
HAVING CONCLUDED PAUL’S LENGTHY AND AWESOME INTRODUCTION, the apostle concludes chapter 1 with a lengthy and awesome prayer in vv.15-23. As you’ll remember, Paul’s introduction comprised the longest sentence in the entire Bible: 12 verses in the Greek text. Well, we go from one long sentence to another; Paul’s prayer is the second longest sentence in the Bible: 9 verses in the Greek text…
BECAUSE IT IS ONE UNINTERRUPTED PRAYER AND BECAUSE, unlike the introduction, it has one central subject, that is, prayer, we will study the whole prayer in this blog…
NAS Ephesians 1:15-16 For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you, and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;
“WITH EPHESIANS 1:15, WE LEAVE THE GREAT DOCTRINAL PASSAGE in which the apostle Paul teaches the fundamental principles of the Christian faith. We are turning now to the issue of prayer and the crucial place prayer has in the Christian experience.” –Steadman…
“THIS PASSAGE IS ABOUT PAUL’S PRAYER FOR HIS READERS. The emphasis is on having the spiritual insight to understand better the immeasurable extent of God’s plan and God’s power. The lesson of this passage encourages us to seek a better understanding of God’s plan and power.” – Garner…
“PRAYING WITH POWER”… I wonder how many Christians actually think of their prayers as being powerful? I have often told my students this relevant thought: “The ancient Jews thought of Prayer as a Mighty Weapon; why should we consider it any less?”…
PRAYER IS POWERFUL…
ONE WRITER TITLED THIS PASSAGE “OUR RESOURCES IN CHRIST.” Another commentator titled vv. 15-23 “Thanksgiving and Prayer,” another “Paul’s Powerful Prayer for Spiritual Insight.” It is a passage filled with beautiful concepts which teach and reassure us as believers today…
“FOR THIS REASON” (the Holman Christian translation has “This is why”) in v. 15 probably refers to Paul’s entire introduction, though some scholars suggest it may be referring only to vv.13-14“Because of the many spiritual benefits God has given the Ephesians, including the facts that they had been redeemed, forgiven, adopted, and sealed with the Holy Spirit, Paul had good reason to give thanks and to pray for them to receive greater spiritual insight.” – Garner…
PAUL SAYS THAT HE HAD HEARD OF THE EPHESIANS’ FAITH AND LOVE. Let’s all consider that point for a moment. He didn’t say that he had heard of the new carpet they had installed in their meeting place. He didn’t say he had heard of their new cooling and heating system, of their state of the art sound system, of their promotional banners, or even of their children’s programs, or their annual church picnic, as wonderful and honoring to God they might be. He said he had heard of their faith and love. Faith and love marked the Ephesians. Faith and love should mark all Christians…
“FAITH AND LOVE MUST BE KEPT IN BALANCE. Many monks, hermits, and countless others throughout the history of the church have endeavored to keep their faith pure but have not reached out to others in love as the Lord commands every believer to do.” – MacArthur…
NAS John 15:10, 12 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love. … 12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
“TOO MANY CHRISTIANS TODAY BECOME HERESY HUNTERS. In other words they are eager to tear down what is wrong. The church is full of legalistic, self-righteous people like this, people are quick to tell you what is wrong. That’s sad. But even sadder is these people seldom do anything to build up what is good. They are full of criticism but deficient in love.” – MacArthur/TAR…
PAUL SAID IN ROMANS 12…
NAS Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;
AND JOHN SAID IN 1 JOHN…
NAS 1 John 3:18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.
NKJ 1 John 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.
“FAITH AND LOVE DEFINE THE CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH, and both need to be present for the church to be what Christ wants it to be. However theologically correct a church’s belief is, however noble its worship, however happy its fellowship or stirring its music, a church is not what it needs to be unless faith and love pervade its life and ministry.” – Garner…
THE EPHESIANS HAD FAITH AND LOVE IN BALANCE, and Paul in his prayer thanked God for them…
HE SAID IN V. 16…
NAS Ephesians 1:16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;
“OBVIOUSLY, PAUL DID NOT MEAN that he gave thanks and prayed around the clock for the Ephesian believers. Rather he meant that he prayed often and faithfully for them. Paul consistently and unweariedly prayed for other people.” – Garner
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE THE FACT THAT PAUL’S PRAYER FOCUSES on others… This fact is easily conformed by a brief look at the first chapters of some of his other letters in the N.T. Let me give you three examples…
NAS Philippians 1:3-4 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all,
NAS Colossians 1:3 We (Paul and Timothy) give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
NAS 2 Timothy 1:3 I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day,
WHEN YOU PRAY FOR OTHERS, YOU TAKE YOUR FOCUS OFF OF YOURSELF for a moment. That’s good; that’s healthy; that’s Christ like…
WHEN YOU PRAY FOR OTHERS, DO YOU REGULARLY THANK GOD FOR THEM? I must confess to you that for years I was lax on this. I think I can say that throughout my walk with the Lord I have always faithfully prayed for others, but I was not in the habit of thanking God for my loved ones. I am happy to say that thanking God for my loved ones is now a regular part of my prayers. I thank God everyday for my dear wife, for my daughters and their husbands and my grandchildren, and for Pastors Matt and Paul and Brett and Rob, and you here at Barabbas Rd.…
I BELIEVE THERE IS A GOOD LESSON FOR US RIGHT HERE in these first verses. We cannot help but notice that the focus of Paul’s prayer is on others, and not only that but notice what he prayed for…
NAS Ephesians 1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.
NOTICE HERE THAT PAUL PRAYS TO GOD THE FATHER. I believe the Bible repeatedly, directly and indirectly, that our prayers are to be addressed to God the Father. When the disciples asked Jesus how they should pray He told them to address their prayers to God the Father…
NAS Matthew 6:9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.
WE ARE TO PRAY TO THE FATHER IN THE NAME OF THE SON BY THE POWER of the Spirit. Certainly, we are not dishonoring to the Father when occasionally we address Jesus or the Holy Spirit in our prayers, but basically, generally we are instructed by God’s Word to pray to the Father…
GOD THE FATHER IS “THE FATHER OF GLORY.” What a beautiful way to address God, don’t you agree? Many Greek scholars see this as better interpreted “the glorious Father” (attributive genitive), though I respectfully believe it should be retained as “the Father of Glory.” “’The Father of glory’ is a Semitic (genitival) phrase that carries the force of the O.T. notion of glory as the mode of God’s being and activity. ‘Glory’ denotes the splendor of the divine presence and power.” – Lincoln…
“WISDOM AND REVELATION”… The Greek word for “revelation” (ἀποκάλυψις [a-pa-ka- loop-sis]) is, you’ll surely remember from Pastor Matt’s sermons, the word from which the last book in the Bible takes its name: “Revelation.” You may remember my blog a couple of weeks ago on “The Mystery of God’s Will.” In it, we spoke about “wisdom and insight”…
NAS Ephesians 1:7-9 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, 8 which He lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him
IN VV. 7-9, PAUL SAID THAT HIS READERS HAD BEEN BLESSED with spiritual “wisdom and insight” in order to be able to discern the mystery of God’s will. Now in v. 17, he prays that they might be given a spirit of “wisdom and revelation.” Paul is praying that his readers would come to know God even better…
I THINK WE HAVE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY HERE TO LEARN A GOOD LESSON. God wants us to always know Him better. It is my observation that one of the main reasons many Christians struggle in their Christian lives is directly because they do not grow in their understanding of God. We as Christians should always be growing in our knowledge of God…
ONE OF MY FAVORITE VERSES FROM ALL OF PAUL’S 13 LETTERS IS Philippians 3:10. Paul is writing from prison to the Philippians to encourage them in their walk with the Lord. He has probably already known Christ better than any of us could every hope to know Him. Paul was the greatest Christian who ever lived. He had been walking with the Lord for 20-30 years by the time he wrote Philippians. And what is his heart’s desire?…
NAS Philippians 3:10 that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;
AFTER 20-30 YEARS OF KNOWING CHRIST INTIMATELY, Paul longed to know Him better. That is so beautiful to me. And I believe that is so instructional for us all…
I HOPE YOU’LL AGREE THAT EVERYDAY WE SHOULD STRIVE TO LEARN MORE about our wonderful God…
“THE REST OF PAUL’S PRAYER IS A PETITION FOR a threefold enlightenment. The three clauses ask for increased knowledge of the hope God’s calling brings, knowledge of the wealth of glory laid up in God’s inheritance in the saints, and knowledge of the immensity of God’s power.” – Lincoln…
CONSIDER CAREFULLY THESE BEAUTIFUL WORDS FROM VV. 18-23, words that comfort our hearts and stir our souls to live lives that honor Christ…
NAS Ephesians 1:18-23 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
“THE EYES OF YOUR HEART”… Isn’t that a superlative phrase?
PAUL IS PRAYING THAT OUR CAPACITIES TO KNOW GOD MAY BE EXPANDED, so that we might know and appreciate “what is the hope of His calling, the riches of His glory, and the surpassing greatness of His power.” I urge you not to miss the beautiful cadence of Paul’s words here: “the hope of His calling, the riches of His glory, the surpassing greatness of his power”…
“THE SURPASSING GREATNESS OF HIS POWER TOWARD US”… Let’s end our study this morning with that amazing phrase…
“POWER” HERE IS THE GREEK WORD δύναμις (du-na-mis). It means the potential for functioning in some way, power, might, strength, force, capability [BDAG lexicon]. It is the supernatural power to work wonders. It is supernatural ability and capability. It is a power that comes only from God…
δύναμις (du-na-mis) IS A FAMILIAR WORD TO GREEK STUDENTS. It is used hundreds of times in the N.T. I have studied this word for years. As I studied it again this week I saw it as being “can” power. Can as in “I can.” Can as in enabling ability, achieving power. Because we have this enabling ability, this achieving power, we can obey the commands of the Bible. Because of this supernatural dimension of can, we have no excuse not to live lives that honor God…
PAUL PRAYS AGAIN FOR BELIEVERS TO HAVE THIS δύναμις (du-na-mis) POWER IN 3:16…
NAS Ephesians 3:16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man;
“THE POWER WITH WHICH GOD WORKS IN THE LIVES OF BELIEVERS IS the same power by which He raised Christ from death to share His throne.” – Bruce…
NAS 2 Corinthians 13:4 For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we shall live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you.
THIS IS THE SAME GREEK WORD FOUND IN OUR PASSAGE. “The power at work in us as the body of Christ is ultimately resurrection power, the same power that raised Christ in glory…
DID YOU KNOW THIS? This fact should, I believe, be a guiding force in our daily lives. It should give us great hope and courage. There is nothing God cannot do in our lives…
REMEMBER HOW PAUL BEGAN HIS INTRODUCTION IN V. 3?…
NAS Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
WE HAVE THE SPIRIT OF ALMIGHTY GOD INDWELLING US! We have been bless with supernatural resurrection power!…
NKJ Romans 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
NAS Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
AND REMEMBER, THIS SAME SUPERNATURAL POWER, Paul tells us in the memorable passage in 2 Corinthians 12, is made perfect or complete in weakness…
NAS 2 Corinthians 12:9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power
(δύναμις [du-na-mis]) is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power (δύναμις [du-na-mis]) of Christ may dwell in me.
PAUL’S PRAYER FOR POWER SHOULD CAUSE US TO both realize that we have this supernatural power and to approach God in prayer with confidence in this same power…
SOMETIMES, IN ADDITION TO PRAYING FOR OUR LOVED ONES’ HEALTH, prosperity, and freedom, after studying this passage in Ephesians we should also pray like Paul and pray that they be granted a greater amount of δύναμις (du-na-mis)…
THAT’S A THOUGHT FOR US TO CONSIDER FROM GOD’S WONDERFUL WORD…
THE END OF CHAPTER 1… “PRAYING WITH POWER…” Another great message from the book of Ephesians…
– Professor Thomas A. Rohm
