My journey through Ephesians continues to improve my prayer life. As discussed in the blog a few weeks ago, the Apostle Paul demonstrates how to effectively pray for others in Ephesians 1. Again, in chapter 3, he demonstrates additional effective ways to pray for our loved ones.
“…that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes all knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:16-19)
Let’s pull out those specific items of prayer:
That we would be strengthened with might though His Spirit, according to the riches of His glory
There are many days where we desperately need the Holy Spirit’s strength to make it through the day, or to meet the demands of life. Not only does God provide that strength, but He does it according to His riches and not ours. His riches are endless and at our disposal.
That Christ would dwell in our hearts through faith
If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, He dwells in your heart. Even the faith required to accept Christ is given by God (see Ephesians 2:8-9).
That we comprehend the expansiveness of Christ’s love
Although we cannot fully comprehend in the natural how deeply God loves us, we can ask Him to show us a deeper understanding of the breadth, length, depth, and height of His perfect, unconditional love. Our understanding continues to grow and mature as we study His Word and seek direction from the Holy Spirit.
That we be filled with the fullness of God
As we mature in our walk with God, we are continually filled with wisdom. We experience ever-increasing fullness of Who He is and what He has accomplished for us.
Here is a way to take what Paul prays in these verses and make it a prayer for others:
Father, I pray that [insert name] would be strengthened with might through your Holy Spirit, and that he/she would accept Christ through faith allowing Him to dwell in his/her heart. I ask that he/she comprehend the expansiveness of Your love for him/her and that [insert name] would be filled with all the fullness of You.
Will you join me in praying this powerful, effective prayer for your loved ones this week? When we align our prayers with scripture, powerful things begin to happen.