Praying the Impossible

Praying the Impossible Ephesians 3:14-21 Context • FBC Context: Monthly Church-wide Prayer 1. Praying together this way requires collective forethought. 2. Whatever your participation has been so far, let’s pledge ourselves to this prayer this month. • Bible Context: 1. Paul, from prison, writing to Christians in Ephesus 2. Paul is intimately acquainted with these people and loves them very much. 3. Paul explains to the people why he’s in prison (for their benefit) and then tells them how he’s praying for them. Prayer Assumptions 1. God expects regular people to pray Ephesians 3:14-21 in their own words regularly. 2. Ephesians 3:14-21 is a prayer of impossibility: to know unknowable love; to be filled with consuming omnipresence. 3. Ephesians 3:14-21 assumes two things: (a) that God is our biggest need; and (b) an ever-rising appreciation of Christ is the best medicine. Prayer Points • Paul’s Impossible End 1. To know the facts of Christ’s love (18) 2. To experience personally Christ’s overwhelming love (19a) 3. To be filled with the fulness of God (19b; Ecclesiastes 3:11) • Preparation for the Impossible 1. Lavishly strengthened by the Spirit’s mighty power (3:16) 2. Have Christ “make his home in your hearts” (3:17a) 3. Possess a deeply rooted foundation in the love of Christ (3:17b) Prayer Points • Result of the Impossible Prayer 1. Glory to God who will accomplish more than we thought possible (3:20a) 2. Glory to God who will work on an infinite scale (3:20b) 3. Glory to God through us, the redeemed, gathered people of God (3:21a) 4. Glory to God through the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth (3:21b) Prayer Helps 1. Start generally and corporately, remembering to use collective pronouns (us, we, our) 2. Move to specific people tying points of Paul’s prayer to the needs of the individual: • • “I pray for Danielle Baker. May she so well know her indwelling Savior that when she speaks to her children, to her husband, or to those under her spiritual care, it’s Christ speaking.” “I pray for Pastor Chris. There are so many different things that he does for you. He needs the wealth of your glorious power for use in all his tasks, words, and relationships.”