“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)
“My dear friends, I pray that you will remain strong and not be discouraged or ashamed by all that I suffer on your behalf, for it is for your glory. So I kneel humbly in awe before the Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, the perfect Father of every father and child in heaven and on the earth. And I pray that he would unveil within you the unlimited riches of his glory and favor until supernatural strength floods your innermost being with his divine might and explosive power. Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life. Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences—the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God! Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you. Now we offer up to God all the glorious praise that rises from every church in every generation through Jesus Christ—and all that will yet be manifest through time and eternity. Amen!” (Ephesians 3:13-21 TPT)
Step 1: Probe the prayer under the light of the Holy Spirit.
I hope you are ready to hit a new level. Brace yourself as the Holy Spirit reveals verses 18 and 19. Ready or not, here goes…
…Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences—the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!
I don’t even know where to begin. “Filled to overflowing with the fulness of God!” Are you kidding me!?! How am I supposed to grasp that? Let alone try to explain it. Help Holy Spirit, Help! Well, here we go.
Verse 18 begins by inviting me to make a discovery. My Daddy (my heavenly Abba Father) loves to hide treasures for me to find. I love to search for them knowing what great riches will be mine as soon as I dig them up.
“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search it out.” (Proverbs 25:2 BSB)
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.” (Matthew 13:44 NLT)
When I search for God’s hidden treasures he will reveal the treasure map to me and share the great joy of discovery with me. He hides these treasures FOR me, not FROM me! In this case, I am discovering the “great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions.” I could write volumes and still fall short of communicating the depths of God’s love. Like so many of God’s treasures, his love “transcends our understanding.”
The love that ushers into my spirit the “fulness of God” is so far beyond what I have words to express that I am going to hand-off to the Holy Spirit and rely on him to teach what I could never teach…
…”But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.” (1 John 2:27 NLT)
Holy Spirit – please teach us about the love and fullness of God that dwells within our spirits. Flood us with revelation knowledge and divine understanding so that we can live daily drawing out from within ourselves all that has been deposited. Enlighten, illumine, and reveal the truth that sets us free. I am ready to receive all that you have for me in Jesus Name.
I don’t know about you, but I long to learn how to pray like Paul. This is so powerful that most of my praying up to this point has been infantile in comparison. Oh what great treasures lie just ahead! Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the love of your Father to you. Search for it in Scripture. Don’t settle for whatever level of understanding you currently possess. And definitely do not settle for your current degree of experience.
Open our eyes Lord! Help us to see what is far beyond the attempts that I have made to shine light on this prayer in…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 443: Praying With Paul – Ephesians 3:13-21 Part 8