A Prayer for Power

What do you pray about?

Think about it?

When we ask for prayer requests, what’s the most common response?

Physical needs, right?

We all tend to be guilty of that. We spend most of our time concerned for our health and comfort.

But what was the content of the majority of the NT prayers?

Spiritual needs. God’s power. Wisdom. Strength. Spiritual Growth. Knowledge of God.

Very few biblical prayers are asked for physical or material needs.

What does that tell us?

We’re majoring on the minors.

Let’s take a look this morning at Paul’s second prayer in the letter to the Ephesians.

In the first prayer, the emphasis was on enlightenment. But in this prayer, the emphasis is on enablement.

Paul is saying, “I want you to get your hands on your spiritual wealth, realize how vast it is, and start to use it.”

It is worth noting that both of these prayers, as well as the other prison prayers (Phil. 1:9–11; Col. 1:9–12), deal with the spiritual condition of the inner man, and not the material needs of the body. Certainly it is not wrong to pray for physical and material needs, but the emphasis in these petitions is on the spiritual.

Paul knew that if the inner man is what he ought to be, the outer man will be taken care of in due time.

Too many of our prayers focus only on physical and material needs and fail to lay hold of the deeper inner needs of the heart. It would do us good to use these prison prayers as our own, and ask God to help us in our inner person. That is where the greatest needs are.

Ephesians 3:14–19 NKJV

14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:14-19 shows Paul praying for God to empower the family of believers and grant them a greater knowledge of his extraordinary love for them.

Let's use the following outline:

1. The Reason for the Prayer (3:14)

2. The Addressee of the Prayer (3:14-15)

3. The Content of the Prayer (3:16-19)

I. The Reason for the Prayer (3:14)

Ephesians 3:14 NKJV

14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Does your mind ever wander when you pray? I know mine does. And so did the mind of the Apostle Paul.

Of course, his wandering mind was much more spiritual than mine.

Paul began his prayer in Ephesians 3:1, only to break off into a digression about the mystery of the gospel and his call to the ministry of that gospel in verses 2-13, and then he returned to his prayer in verse 14.

This is clear when reading verses 1 and 14 together: "For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles…For this reason I bow my knees before the Father." Perhaps Paul needed a prayer list too.

"For this reason" is stated in verse 1 and repeated in verse 14. Everything between these verses is a parenthesis.

So, "for this reason" refers to what Paul wrote prior to chapter 3.

One commentator writes, "Two chapters of God's amazing grace preceded chapter 3. Gratitude for the grace of God in chapters 1-2 prompted this prayer in chapter 3. Paul was stunned at God's grace in saving sinners individually and at his grace in uniting them corporately."

When we think about God's amazing grace, about God who called us, regenerated us, justified us, adopted us, and forgave us, we should go to God in prayer too. Do we?

Before we leave the reason for Paul's prayer, I want you to notice his posture. Paul said at the end of verse 14, "…I bow my knees before the Father."

This may not strike us as unusual, especially if we are accustomed to kneeling when we pray. We should note though, that "the normal posture for prayer among the Jews was standing.

In Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the Publican both men stood to pray (Lk. 18:11, 13). So, kneeling was unusual." Why was it unusual to kneel in prayer? Because, "It indicated an exceptional degree of earnestness, as when Ezra confessed Israel's sins of penitence, Jesus fell on his face to the ground in the Garden of Gethsemane, and Stephen faced the ordeal of martyrdom."

The Bible actually does not prescribe a particular posture for prayer. It is possible to pray standing, kneeling, walking, sitting, and even lying down.

The point is that Paul's posture of kneeling indicated "an exceptional degree of earnestness." We should also be earnest when we pray. Let us never pray in a flippant or casual manner.

II. The Addressee of the Prayer (3:14-15)

Ephesians 3:14–15 NKJV

14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

Paul was praying to our Father. Paul was making a deliberate play on the words in the original Greek, because Father is pater and family is patria.

Because all believers are in Christ, they are sons and daughters of God the Father. They are united to Christ, and they are united to one another.

III. The Content of the Prayer (3:16-19)

Ephesians 3:16–19 NKJV

16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Paul prayed four petitions for believers.

A. To Be Strengthened with Power (3:16)

Ephesians 3:16 NKJV

16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,

Paul prayed so earnestly for the Ephesians because he knew that they desperately needed something that can come only from God: power. So, Paul prayed in verse 16, "…"

The reason why some of us struggle so much with sin is that we are relying on our own power to deal with it. We think that if we think it through on our own we will figure out a solution. Some of us struggle with relationships because we rely on our own power to deal with it.

But, do we ever go to God earnestly? Do we realize that we are completely helpless and powerless apart from God?

Ill. This is vividly illustrated in a story titled "Palm Monday" that was written by one commentator:

The donkey awakened, his mind still savoring the afterglow of the most exciting day of his life. Never before had he felt such a rush of pleasure and pride.

He walked into town and found a group of people by the well. "I'll show myself to them," he thought.

But they didn't notice him. They went on drawing their water and paid him no mind.

"Throw your garments down," he said crossly. "Don't you know who I am?"

They just looked at him in amazement. Someone slapped him across the tail and ordered him to move.

"Miserable heathens!" he muttered to himself. "I'll just go to the market where the good people are. They will remember me."

But the same thing happened. No one paid any attention to the donkey as he strutted down the main street in front of the market place.

"The palm branches! Where are the palm branches?" he shouted. "Yesterday, you threw palm branches!"

Hurt and confused, the donkey returned home to his mother.

"Foolish child," she said gently. "Don't you realize that without him, you are just an ordinary donkey?"

Apart from Christ we can do nothing (cf. John 15:5). That is why we need to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in our inner being.

B. To Have Christ Dwelling in Them Through Faith (3:17a)

Ephesians 3:17 NKJV

17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

Paul prayed in verse 17a, "…"

Why did Paul pray this? Doesn't Christ already dwell in the hearts of believers? Yes, he does. However, as the commentator Charles Hodge rightly observed, "The indwelling of Christ is a thing of degrees."

What Paul is praying for is a deeper experience between Christ and His people. He yearns for Christ to settle down and feel at home in their hearts - not a surface relationship, but an ever-deepening fellowship.

Paul's use of the Greek word for dwell (katoikesai) is important. It means "to settle down and feel at home.”

We could illustrate it as the difference between a permanent and a temporary resident.

When Christ takes up residence in a believer, it is like a couple who purchase a home that needs a lot of work. Over time, they clean it up, repair it, and eventually they say, "This house has been shaped to our needs and taste and we really feel comfortable." Then,

When Christ by his Spirit takes up residence within us, he finds the moral equivalent of mounds of trash, ugly wallpaper, and a leaking roof.

He sets about turning this residence into a place appropriate for him, a home in which he is comfortable….

Make no mistake: when Christ first moves into our lives, he finds us in very bad repair. It takes a great deal of power to change us; and that is why Paul prays for power.

[Christ is] transforming us into a house that pervasively reflects his own character.

Christ lives in every believer. And he is working in every believer to make him or her more like himself.

C. To Know Christ's Love (3:17b-19a)

Ephesians 3:17–19 NKJV

17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Paul acknowledged that believers are rooted and grounded in love, that is, in the love of Christ.

The verb “rooted” moves us to the plant world.

The tree must get its roots deep into the soil if it is to have both nourishment and stability; and the Christian must have his spiritual roots deep into the love of God. Psalm 1:1–3 is a perfect description of this word, and Jeremiah 17:5–8 is a good commentary on it.

One of the most important questions a Christian can ask himself is, “From what do I draw my nourishment and my stability?” If there is to be power in the Christian life, then there must be depth. The roots must go deeper and deeper into the love of Christ.

Grounded is an architectural term; it refers to the foundations on which we build.

The trials of life test the depth of our experience.

If two roommates in college have a falling out, they may seek new roommates, for after all, living with a roommate is a passing experience.

But if a husband and wife, who love each other, have a disagreement, the trial only deepens their love as they seek to solve the problems.

The storm that blows reveals the strength of the roots.

Jesus told the story about the two builders, one of whom did not go deep enough for his foundation (Matt. 7:24–29).

Paul prayed that the believers might have a deeper experience with Christ, because only a deep experience could sustain them during the severe trials of life.

And then the Apostle Paul went on to pray that believers would have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth of this love.

Commentators struggle to interpret exactly what the Apostle Paul meant here. Nevertheless, as Hughes notes that these dimensions can be said to suggest:

1) A love which is wide enough to embrace the world. John 3:16 tells us, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

2) A love which is long enough to last forever (1 Corinthians 13:8). As Spurgeon said, "It is so long that your old age cannot wear it out, so long your continual tribulation cannot exhaust it, your successive temptations shall not drain it dry; like eternity itself it knows no bounds."

3) A love which is high enough to take sinners to Heaven (1 John 3:1, 2).

4) A love which is deep enough to take Christ to the very depths to reach the lowest sinner (Philippians 2:8).

Paul wanted believers to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. That is, Paul wanted believers to experience the love of Christ personally in deep and profound ways.

D. To Be Filled with All the Fullness of God (3:19b)

Ephesians 3:19 NKJV

19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

This is a staggering prayer! How may any believer be filled with all the fullness of God?

We are finite. God is infinite. And yet Paul prayed that believers may be filled with all the fullness of God. There is no way, this side of heaven, we can fathom that truth. We can only believe it and praise God for it.

John MacArthur writes that J. Wilbur Chapman often told of the testimony given by a certain man in one of his meetings:

I got off at the Pennsylvania depot as a tramp, and for a year I begged on the streets for a living. One day I touched a man on the shoulder and said, "Hey, mister, can you give me a dime?" As soon as I saw his face I was shocked to see that it was my own father. I said, "Father, Father, do you know me?" Throwing his arms around me and with tears in his eyes, he said, "Oh my son, at last I've found you! I've found you. You want a dime? Everything I have is yours." Think of it. I was a tramp. I stood begging my own father for ten cents, when for 18 years he had been looking for me to give me all that he had.

That is a somewhat inadequate illustration of what God wants to do for believers. Paul prayed that believers would realize all of the incredible riches in God, and that they would rejoice in all that God is and has for them.

Conclusion

So we’ve looked at Ephesians 3:14-19, let us pray as Paul has prayed.

As we pray, let us pray for ourselves and for others:

(1) To be strengthened with power so that we might do all that Christ calls to do,

(2) To have Christ dwelling in us so that he might make us more and more like him,

(3) To know Christ's love so that we might comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth of this love, and

(4) To be filled with all the fullness of God so that we may know him better now and in eternity.

May this kind of prayer be characteristic of each one of us who knows Christ as our Lord and Savior. Amen.