Praying in the Church: To Whom Do We Pray

Introduction:

Lots of religious sects teach that we are to pray. They also teach us to whom we are to pray.

In Islam, people are to pray to Allah through Muhammed or one of their dead prophets called Imams

In Roman Catholicism, believers are encouraged to pray to the saints. There are different saints assigned to different roles.

In Hinduism, followers pray to different Gods

I once had a friend in seminary who took a comparative religions course and he had to go to different places of worship from different religions. He went to a Hindu temple for one of the assignments and there was a little girl there who came up to one of the many gods they had. She gave a little offering to the god and my friend asked her why she went to that one. She said that it was because she like the way it looked better than the others.

We have to give the child credit for her honesty.

The truth is that all of these groups are wrong. Nowhere in Scripture are we told to pray to man or to the work of man’s hands. In fact, we are specifically forbidden from doing so.

It is not because God is jealous, though He does have a holy jealousy and will not share His glory with another. It is instead because God knows what is best for us and He knows that these other objects of our prayer cannot help us in the least bit.

Tonight we are going to take a look at the prayer that Paul began at the beginning of this chapter and break it down into three parts that we will look at over the next few weeks.

Tonight we are going to look at Who we are the pray to.

Next time we gather we will look at what we are to pray for.

Finally we will look at the results that come from our praying.

Ephesians 3:14–21 ESV

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

1. Recognize to Whom We Pray (vv.14-16)

1. It is a personal relationship (v.14)

Ephesians 3:14 ESV

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,

Paul had a relationship with the Person to whom he prayed

Paul did not pray to saints or through a mediary like a priest

2. It is powerful relationship (v.15)

Ephesians 3:15 ESV

15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,

Every family on earth has it’s origin from God (even the wicked)

To name something is to have authority over it

3. It is an inexhaustible relationship (v.16)

Ephesians 3:16 ESV

16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

God has riches in glory

God doesn’t run out of goodies

There is no limit on the number of times you can come back to God to ask for things

Conclusion:

Does who you know change how you behave and the confidence with which you undertake different things in life?

Example: Taking on a home improvement project if you know someone who can fix things if you mess up.

Knowing the President

Imagine for a moment with me that you knew the President personally. You were on such a great first name basis with him and he had previously told you many times that if you ever need anything, all you have to do is ask him.

How would that change how you faced different situations? Hopefully you would never do anything illegal and try to call up that favor.

But even when we do know someone who can grant us these favors, we often save them in our pocket for a time when we have a real need that no one else can help with.

Did you know God never limits the number of favors we ask? He is not like a genie that gives us three wishes and then we are out. He is also not like a friend that tells you if you scratch his back, he will scratch yours. You don’t have to do anything for God to grant you the prayers of your heart.

What could you really give to God that He doesn’t already have? What could God possibly need?

God simply calls us to come to Him in prayer and seek Him. In the week to come we will look at what we are to pray for, but this week I want to challenge you to go to God and think about who He is.

If you haven’t been praying, begin where you are as raw as you can be. God doesn’t mind your honesty. He already knows you better than you know yourself.

Pray that God would draw close to you. Pray that your relationship might be deepened and that you might know what you ought to ask Him for.