Skip to main content

Boldness



Carry on…in Prayer
A Prayer for the Love of Christ
Pray that Christ’s Love Would Dwell in Your Heart

Prayer grows on us as we grow in prayer.

Paul prays for believers to grow into the fullness of spiritual maturity. He prays for an inner strength, a deeper faith, an abundant love, and the fullness of God in each believer’s life.

After Paul prays for an inner strength and a deeper faith, he then prays for an abundant love, the king that is rooted deep within our hearts. Such love is the hallmark of every believer. And all these things – an inner strength, a deeper faith, and an abundant love – will lead to a full maturity in Christ.




God’s mercy and grace are all the more magnified in light of His unimaginable power.

Read Ephesians and Reflect on Chapter 3:14-21

Paul picks up the thought that he began in 3:1, in this section. He prays that the Ephesian believers would be strengthened in their inner person. He prays that Christ will dwell in their hearts, and that they will be strong enough to grasp Christ’s immense love. The three members of the Godhead Paul mentions in this section are: God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

In his prayer that Christ would dwell in the hearts of the Ephesians believers (3:17), Paul uses the Greek word katoikeo, which refers to settling down or permanently residing somewhere.

Paul wants the Ephesian believers to understand just how wide, long, high, and deep Christ’s love is (3:18). Yet if the love of Christ “surpasses knowledge” (3:19), how can we know it? The Greek work for “knowledge” (gnosis) often refers to knowledge gained through experience.

Paul says, in verse 20, “Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think…” or all the passages in Ephesians, this one is probably quoted the most. The New International Version translation says “more than all we ask or imagine.” God must be pretty amazing because I can dream up some pretty crazy stuff! But where did my imagination come from? It came from Him. He gives us our imagination. And He can do immensely more than anything we can ask or think or imagine.

Ephesians 3:30-21 are really the hinge between the first three chapters and the final three chapters. Before we move on to the more practical applications (in chapters 4-6) of the truths Paul has just taught (in chapters 1-3), Paul wants to remind his listeners that God’s mercy and grace are all the more magnified in light of His infinite power. And all glory is due Him

The same power that raised Christ from the dead now lives in us. We must never forget that, which is why Paul repeats the same idea in 1:19 and 3:16.



Diving Deeper

What attributes does Paul ascribe to each member of the Godhead?



What does it mean to have Christ residing in you?



In what ways have you experienced to love of Christ? How do these experiences help you understand Christ’s love?





Paul concludes his prayer with a benediction that gives glory to God (3:20-21). How does he describe God in these verses?



In what ways do Paul’s words reassure you that God is able not only to do more that you ask, but also to do more than you can comprehend? Allow this assurance to influence your prayer life.



Who is able to do abundantly more than all we ask or thing or imagine?



Where is God’s power at work?




Write it out – When writing out Ephesians 3:14-21, consider each room in the house of your heart and invite Jesus to take up residence in every area of your life. Thank God for the blessing of our imagination and praise Him that He is infinitely greater and more powerful than anything we can ask or think or imagine.



Prayer: Thank You, God, for reminding me that You are greater than anything I could ever imagine on my own. With my finite mind, I know I can never fully grasp Your infinite power. Help me to grow in my trust in You. You are greater. Infinitely greater. And all glory is Yours. Amen.





May God give you the Spirit of wisdom & revelation so that you may know Him better. Have an awesome day in the Lord!! Ephesians 1:17


Related posts


Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!

  





.

Denise J. Hughes, “Word Writes: Ephesians”

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Good Friday

  Happy Good Friday   This is the day that we remember what Jesus did for us --- enduring beating, mocking, and being crucified.   I imagine his disciples did not consider it to be a “good” Friday at the time. But what makes it GOOD is what happened on Sunday --- when Jesus did the impossible and rose from the dead.    Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.  ~ 1 Peter 1:18-19 ESV   One of the best ways of celebrating Jesus and His Resurrection…is through family traditions.    Family traditions can be as simple as attending  ️  church and having lunch or brunch together.    Jesus was a story-teller. I believe he knew the power of a story to capture hearts and bring joy while effectively delivering a specific message. He often used parables to tea...
Post a Comment
Read more

Canva

Created 2 Create Twitter Cover Image Design Canva - One of My Favorite Design Programs and Apps With Canva , you don’t have to be a design pro, it makes designing easy. You can use your own photos or you can you upload images from sites like Unsplash or Pexels  and download them on your computer totally FREE. Canva also offers an app for you phone. Canva lets you Create designs for Web or print: blog graphics, presentations, Facebook & social media covers, flyers, posters, invitations and many more.  The design options are endless, and the site is very user-friendly – you can modify one the their designs or create your own using one of the templates. Unsplash offers professional images that you can modify, edit and use as you desire. Again, totally free! Pexels ’ site is just like Upsplash , these are royalty-free photographs for you to use as you wish. These are some of the designs I created using Canva … Click on l...
7 comments
Read more

Why God Wants to Bless You!

  Why God Wants to Bless You!   “For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away” (Matthew 25:29, ESV). Do you know that God wants to bless you? He wants you to have abundance, lacking no good thing. But He doesn’t want that for you and me so we can merely enjoy our lives. He wants us to steward our resources so we can be better able to reach out to others and bless them in His name. Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 (ESV),   “…let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”   The goal is fruitfulness. The goal is God’s Kingdom. The goal is for God’s blessing to flow through us so we might be a blessing to others, to the glory of His name!
Post a Comment
Read more