“Never stop praying” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT)
”So let us 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)
“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:24 NKJV)
Let’s read again Paul’s prayer for the believers in Ephesus found in Ephesians 1:16-23 (TPT)…
…“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!”
Step 1: Probe the prayer under the light of the Holy Spirit.
Verse 16 begins with the phrase, “Because of this.” That makes me ask myself, “because of what?” The New King James Version reads, “Therefore I also.” Way back in the stone age when I went to Bible College I learned that whenever a verse begins with the word “therefore” I need to look to the previous verse or verses to find out what it is “there for.” With this in mind, our probing of this prayer actually starts by backing up a verse to find out what prompted Paul to pray the way he did. So let’s look at verse 14…
“He is given to us like an engagement ring, as the first installment of what’s coming! He is our hope-promise of a future inheritance which seals us until we have all of redemption’s promises and experience complete freedom—all for the supreme glory and honor of God!”
Paul was referring to the Holy Spirit when making the comparison to an engagement ring. Leading up to this verse Paul described how the Holy Spirit had been given to the Jews and was now being given to the Gentiles. Because they had received the Holy Spirit like an engagement ring, just like the Bride to be they had a promise for the future. They were “sealed” or “secured” for what was to come. Having received this promise they were in a position to receive everything that Paul was about to pray for them. And what a promise it is – “all of redemption’s promises and experience complete freedom.” I can’t help but shout, “Wow!”
So what are “redemption’s promises?”
David gave us a glimpse in Psalm 103:1-5 (TPT)
“With my whole heart, with my whole life, and with my innermost being, I bow in wonder and love before you, the holy God! Yahweh, you are my soul’s celebration. How could I ever forget the miracles of kindness you’ve done for me? You kissed my heart with forgiveness, in spite of all I’ve done. You’ve healed me inside and out from every disease. You’ve rescued me from hell and saved my life. You’ve crowned me with love and mercy. You satisfy my every desire with good things. You’ve supercharged my life so that I soar again like a flying eagle in the sky!” (This “supercharge” is called “renewed youth” in another version.)
By way of the Holy Spirit I have already received the “first installment,” the “deposit,” the “down payment” within my spirit of all that “redemption” has to offer. All of this has been “sealed” within me as I have been “sealed” within the Body of Christ until the coming age in which the fullness of my inheritance will be experienced in my spirit, soul, and body. Again I shout, “Wow!”
Today I have “great and precious promises.”
“And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.” (2 Peter 1:4 NLT)
I can experience these promises to a great degree today. In the future I will experience them to their fullest degree.
It is in light of this sealed position of future hope that Paul began his prayer for the Ephesian believers. Now let’s move into verses 15 and 16…
…“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.”
Paul began by stating that it was because these believers had received the Holy Spirit with his promises for today and the future that he was able to pray for them. He then recognized their “strong faith” and “tender love.” which moved him to pray with thanksgiving.
These believers were putting their relationship with the Holy Spirit to work in their lives. They weren’t just sitting back waiting for the future promises to land in their laps. They were demonstrating their faith in Jesus through their “tender love” for those who also had faith in Jesus – “his devoted ones.”
Paul was overflowing with thanksgiving for these believers as he heard of their love and devotion to Jesus and others. They were living as those who knew who they were and what they possessed in Christ. Paul’s reaction to what he was hearing about the Ephesian believers was the fulfillment of what the Apostle John said…
…”A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35 ESV)
I need to pause here and ask myself a few questions…
…“Is my faith in Jesus demonstrated strongly enough to be noticed?”
…“Is my love toward others visible enough to catch someone’s eye?”
…“Does the way that I am living when I don’t know anyone is watching cause anyone’s heart to be “full and overflowing with thanks to God?”
…”Am I recognized as a disciple of Jesus by my love?”
Finally, Paul was so inspired by these believers that he remembered them every time he prayed. Paul started at least 14 Churches. He was involved in the lives of numerous believers. He was constantly on the move in ministry or in the midst of persecution. He had much to pray about, and yet these believers had made such an indelible mark on his memory that he said, “I constantly remember you in my prayers.” Another version states that he did “not cease to give thanks” for them. He was constantly and continually keeping them in his prayers as they were always on his mind.
Paul’s prayer life was not fixated on himself. He was more interested in going to God on behalf of others that he was for himself. He was also listening and looking for what needed to be prayed pertaining to those for whom he was praying.
As we move forward we will find that Paul prayed a bit differently than most of us pray today. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s take time to consider what we have learned from the opening of Paul’s prayer as discussed in…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 428: Praying With Paul – Ephesians 1:15 – 23 Part 2