A Prayer for the Ephesians and a Prayer for you!

A Prayer for the Ephesians and a Prayer for You

I am now reading Ephesians for my quiet time. I was reading chapter 3 on Saturday morning and came across the most wonderful prayer that Paul prayed for the Ephesians. Paul is probably under house arrest when he is writing. He begins the chapter by saying “for this reason.” The reasons are explained in the previous verses. Basically in the previous verses Paul is explaining how the Gentiles who were once far away from God, but because of the blood of Christ, now have the right to be “fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s family.” This is still true today! Because of what Christ has done for us through the cross we have the privilege of being included in the family of God. Praise be to God for the victory through Jesus Christ!
Paul then strays away from his original thought and discusses the “mystery”. Here the word “mystery” refers to the private plan of God, which in Ephesians related primarily to the unification of the Jews and Gentiles in the new body, the church. In verse 14, Paul gets back on track when he prays for the Ephesians. This is an incredibly jam packed prayer. Oh to have someone pray this over me daily! I pray this over you as I type this; that Christ will “dwell in your hearts through faith.”

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work in us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Praying for you,
Aaron Hodges