I Bow My Knees

Good morning, welcome to New Horizon. Please open your Bibles to Ephesians 3.

Sadie Cusac baptism next Sunday immediately following our worship gathering.

Where have we been thus far?

Begin with greetings in 1:1-2, followed by v. 3-14 of an exclamation of praising God for who He is and all He has done, particularly in His plan for salvation.

Next, Paul breaks into prayer. Notice the language found in v. 15- “For this reason…I do not cease to give thanks for you.”

Prays that the Ephesians would have their eyes opened, or enlightened, to the power of God and the greatness of His strength in bringing them to faith in Christ and eternal life.

This prayer takes us into chapter two, in which Paul describes at length how the character and works of God have been put on display.

In 2:1-10, Paul describes what happens in order for a person to go from living immersed in sin to receiving eternal life by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus.

In 2:11-22, Paul details the implications of such salvation among mankind, namely, that Jew and Gentile alike have been brought together into one body, the Church of Jesus Christ.

Finally, in 3:1, Paul begins with the same words from 1:15- For this reason…

Here we find, once again, that When Paul reflects upon all of what God has done, specifically for these Ephesians Christians, he cannot help but talk to God about it.

However, before mentioning his prayer, Paul goes off on a tangent in 3:1-13 about how he has had the privilege of seeing all of this take place firsthand.

Finally, in v. 14, Paul repeats those common words, For this reason, and we begin to see Paul describing his prayer life to the Ephesians concerning how he prays regularly for them.

Read Ephesians 3:14–15- “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,”

Pray.

We see here, as we have seen already in Ephesians, that what Paul experiences of God in this life causes him to pray.

Pray without ceasing- How is this possible? By being in constant communication with God.

Getting our kids one on one.

1. Why did Paul pray?

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father…”

The tearing down of the walls of hostility.

God’s Kingdom coming to fruition- Everything that Jesus had preached, Paul is watching happen.

The gospel is working its way into the lives of people.

Paul is seeing it take place in the life of the people to whom he has ministered.

What Paul has seen is similar to what we are able to see in the context of the church today.

People coming to faith, but more than just this, people living their faith, learning and pursuing what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

God’s promises throughout the OT fulfilled.

Genesis 12:2–3- “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Think of the excitement of a promise being fulfilled.

We tend to miss out on the excitement once we become adults, but think about what it was like to have a promise fulfilled as a child.

Going on vacation to Disney with our kids.

Promise made, countdown begins, the morning of there is sheer excitement.

Thank you thank you thank you!

Isn’t this Paul’s response to God? He sees all of what God is accomplishing and cannot help but speak to God in response.

2. To Whom did Paul pray?

“I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named…”

Father.

Creator, Originator.

One who is able to provide and protect.

Earthly fathers are able to give a limited example of this.

Consider all the good that a great earthly, human dad does for his children.

Loving, forgiving, providing, present, strong, compassionate.

Take all of those blessings and stretch them infinitely to begin to see how God cares for His own children.

This is the Father to whom Paul prays.

Do we grasp the character of our Father with whom we hold communion and fellowship?

John Owen- “How few of the saints are experimentally acquainted with this privilege of holding immediate communion with the Father in love! With what anxious, doubtful thoughts do they look upon Him! What fears, what questionings are there, of His good-will and kindness! At the best, many think there is no sweetness at all in Him towards us, but what is purchased at the high price of the blood of Jesus.”

Namer.

Consider Adam being told to name the animals.

He was given dominion over the garden and given tasks which showed his dominion- Work and keep the ground. Name the animals.

To name something shows a sense of dominion over that something.

Continues even into life today.

Naming our sins.

God, would you show me the sins in my life of which I am unaware? Reveal them to me so that I can see them clearly.

Naming our blessings.

“Count your blessings name them one by one.”

The act of naming has a real power over that which is named. To see God as the source from whom every family in heaven and earth is named shows a sense of authority and participating which ought to encourage us greatly in our prayers.

Paul prays to the Father, Jesus instructs His disciples to pray to the Father, we ought to pray to the Father.

But beyond that, we must consider what are the implications of praying to the Father.

3. How did Paul pray?

“I bow my knees before the Father…”

Bowing as a posture in prayer communicates certain realities to you as you approach God in prayer.

Awe

Revelation 4:9–11- “And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.’”

Humility

2 Chronicles 7:14- “…if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Submission.

We come before God with an awareness of who we are and an awareness of who God is.

We bow our knees knowing our need for God, for He who is outside of ourselves.

The very nature of prayer is submission. God I am helpless, powerless, but you are not.

Comfort.

2 Corinthians 1:3–4- “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

Valerie and Grandpa.

So what?

We aren’t meant to do things carelessly or thoughtlessly.

Have you considered why you pray, to whom you pray, and how you pray?

Perhaps asking such questions of your own prayer life will provide deeper intimacy with the Father and a greater desire to pray.

Ian Hamilton- “While in prison he could not preach to them, but he could pray for them, and he did.”

There is much in this life that we are unable to do. We are always able to pray.