Therefore, confess your sins to one another [your false steps, your offenses], and pray for one another, that you may be healed and restored. The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) is able to accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].” (James 5:16 AMP)
“I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we already possess what we have asked of Him.” (1 John 5:13-15 BSB)
“Jesus said to them, “Have faith in God! I can guarantee this truth: This is what will be done for someone who doesn’t doubt but believes what he says will happen: He can say to this mountain, ‘Be uprooted and thrown into the sea,’ and it will be done for him. That’s why I tell you to have faith that you have already received whatever you pray for, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:22-24 GWT)
Prayer is foundational to living the abundant life that was promised by Jesus. He was himself a man of prayer. There are numerous instances, recorded in the Gospels, of Jesus setting aside time to separate himself from the business of his life and ministry to pray. Along with this, he was in constant communication with his Father. That is why he could say…
…“Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.” (John 5:19 ESV)
…For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.” (John 12:49-50 ESV)
Another man of prayer was the Apostle Paul. His heart for prayer is best described in three simple words written to those he dearly loved living in Thessalonica. They are…
…“Never stop praying” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT)
In his writings, Paul recorded a few of his prayers for us to read and emulate. I have chosen to begin by examining his prayer written down in Ephesians 1:15-23. I especially love how it is worded in The Passion Translation. We will start with this prayer and then move to another. We will do this until the Holy Spirit says to move on. As we follow the lead of the Holy Spirit we will use a 3 step approach…
…Step 1: Probe the prayer under the light of the Holy Spirit.
…Step 2: Personalize the prayer with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
…Step 3: Pray the prayer through the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is far more than a “Bible Study.” This is not simply to learn facts and information about praying. This is intended to create an environment in which we will be drawn back to previous life lessons learned as prayer brought us into the presence of our Father and create new opportunities for dynamic experiences of life changing lessons and breakthroughs as we are led by the Holy Spirit to…
…”come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (Hebrews 4:16 NLT)
We will dig in next time. Until then please read and meditate on the following prayer…
“Because of this, since I first heard about your strong faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and your tender love toward all his devoted ones, my heart is always full and overflowing with thanks to God for you as I constantly remember you in my prayers. I pray that the Father of glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, would impart to you the riches of the Spirit of wisdom and the Spirit of revelation to know him through your deepening intimacy with him. I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination, flooding you with light, until you experience the full revelation of the hope of his calling —that is, the wealth of God’s glorious inheritances that he finds in us, his holy ones! I pray that you will continually experience the immeasurable greatness of God’s power made available to you through faith. Then your lives will be an advertisement of this immense power as it works through you! This is the mighty power that was released when God raised Christ from the dead and exalted him to the place of highest honor and supreme authority in the heavenly realm! And now he is exalted as first above every ruler, authority, government, and realm of power in existence! He is gloriously enthroned over every name that is ever praised, not only in this age, but in the age that is coming!” And he alone is the leader and source of everything needed in the church. God has put everything beneath the authority of Jesus Christ and has given him the highest rank above all others. And now we, his church, are his body on the earth and that which fills him who is being filled by it!” (Ephesians 1:15-23 TPT)
Get ready to receive whatever the Holy Spirit desires for us as we spring ahead from……Eric’s Life Lesson # 427: Praying With Paul – Ephesians 1:15 – 23 Part 1