Praying in the Church: The Results of Our Praying
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Over the last few weeks, we have been looking at Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians.
We looked at who his prayer was addressed to as we looked at God’s riches in glory towards us.
We also looked at the content of what his prayers were for the church.
Tonight, we are going to look at the results of Paul’s prayers.
Do you really believe that prayer has power and produces results in our lives? So many times, we act as though we don’t really believe it works.
Imagine living in your home and having the power connected, but you never plug anything into the outlets and you never turn on the lights. You get out your candles and you operate in your home like you are living in the 1800s.
People might question your sanity. It would be fair to question whether on not you really believe that the power is hooked up and available for you.
That’s the way it is if we don’t tap into the power of prayer. Now to be clear, I am not suggesting that we pray for anything we want and God is just going to do it like some magic genie.
However, when we pray there are powerful results.
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.
Tonight we want to
3. Witness the Results of Our Prayers (vv.20-21)
We are going to be looking at 3 things tonight as we look at the results that our prayers bring:
God’s Ability
God’s Power
God’s Glory
God’s Ability
God’s Ability
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,
He is able to do far more abundantly than we ask or think
Stacking of terms
God is limitless
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,
Paul also wrote in 2 Cor.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
God is infinitely creative (more than we ask or think)
We are often limited in what we ask
God is a creative God that can do far more than we could imagine
Example: Pharaoh’s army getting drowned because of where God led the Israelites crossing the Red Sea
God used this to display to the world and the people in the land of Canaan Yahweh’s power
We often don’t know what to ask for
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
God’s Power
God’s Power
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,
It is working within us
God has infinite power
God’s Glory
God’s Glory
21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Our aim is the glory of God in our lives and in the church
God does all of this to bring glory to Himself
