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Meditation

Reader,

One of the most shocking events of my early Christian life was being asked earnestly by a fellow congregant after the Sunday service how she could pray for me.

I had never been asked this question before, and I was genuinely unprepared for it. I had no answer. Not even a passable lie.

To my (very) new Christian ears, it seemed like such a strange question. "Did I look like I needed anyone to pray for me?" After all, I'd turned up on time in a well-ironed shirt, cleanly shaved, and had on my least worn jeans. I clearly had it all together:- at least for the 60 minutes of the service.

I grew up in a liturgical tradition where members of the congregation weren't encouraged (to say the least) to pray for each other but merely to trumpet "Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer" or a simple "Amen" after the priest or vicar had prayed somberly for world peace and an end to war and starvation around the world.

Now, there's nothing wrong with those prayers, but more often than not, they don't touch the spiritual sides. Righteous indeed, but impersonal to a fault. Paul's prayer for the spiritual strength of the Ephesians is the counter for all that, as we see and feel when we copy today's passage.

Today's text is Ephesians 3:14-21

A Prayer for the Ephesians

¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!

Amen.

Encouragement

The seven personal pronouns in this prayer mean Paul shoots right at his target and ends on a real high, which is why to this day, the doxology at the end of this prayer is repeated almost every Sunday to conclude services at churches up and down the land.

Praying God's promises for others and letting them know you are doing it is how we harness the encouraging power of prayer.

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Andy

God's Word In Your Hand

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