21 Days of Prayer
DAY 15 - Ephesians 3:14-21
14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,[a] 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.[b] 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.
CONSIDER THE CONTEXT
Paul was one praying man. He said in one of his letters that he prays without ceasing. Wow - how is that possible? One day we might wake up to the fact that we are paying more than we think we are. In today's prayer from scripture, we see Paul praying for those he has had the opportunity to come into contact with through the Church in Ephesus. This is a powerful and spirit directed prayer that covers many of the important characteristics of what it is to be fully under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. This is the kind of prayer we can believe Jesus is speaking to our heavenly father for each one of us right now.
CONSIDER THE IMPLICATIONS
There are many truths in this particular prayer from Paul. God is concerned with our inner being. He wants that part of us to be blessed by the riches of power and strength. He doesn't want our inner being to be weak or crippled as it is in so many of our lives. And, Oh how we are to know Christ's Love - it's depth, width and breath in our lives. We are to know Jesus as well - really know Him with an experiential knowledge that trumps any head knowledge we may pick up from a good sermon or any reading we may do. Finally we are to know that the power of this world is nothing to the power that we have in us through Jesus Christ. Isn't that a freeing thought? Yes, the power of this world can cause many problems for us - some of them seemingly impossible to overcome. But, God is so much more powerful. That power is there for us at the call of our God who is in control of it all. Best of all, the same riches are available for our Church. Oh what a great God we serve. That's who you are praying to today.
CONSIDER THE PRAYER
Dear Lord, I accept the kind of life Paul pays for today. I accept the power and the strength of an inner being that can only come from you. I turn to you for that kind of faith - the gift from you that I don't deserve and can't earn. I thank you that my Church believes in this kind of free and powerful life for me and all that come through its doors. Now, make us all able to accept it - all the more. Please let us know the size of your love for us and for those who don't know you yet. Please help us walk in the peace that comes with knowing that you are greater than all those principalities that can literally destroy us if you allowed them to do so. Protect us from those powers who long to diminish your fullness in people's lives by messing with their well being. Keep us close to you and complete in the knowledge of your son's saving grace. Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment