Ephesians 3:14-21 (NIV)
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 within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
In light of all that Paul has just brought forward, that in the Ephesians God was working His plan that had been established before the creation of the world to bring both Jews and gentiles together into one united and powerful people of God, Paul is moved to pray for the Ephesians. His prayer has five closely related petitions:
- That God would strengthen the Ephesians with power through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Paul knew from personal experience that this divine power was needed by Christians everywhere to enable them to be witnesses to Jesus and to perform mighty miracles that would put the seal of authority on their words. He also knew that they would need that power to stand strong in the face of resistance and even persecution.
- That Christ would dwell in their hearts by faith. Jesus promised at the Last Supper that, through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, He would not leave His disciples, but would come to them and live in them (John 14:18-21). Paul was praying that the Ephesians would powerfully experience this reality as he did every day.
- That the Ephesians would be rooted and established in agape love. It was Jesus Himself who identified agape love for God and agape love for one’s neighbor as the two most important commandments and the root and foundation of the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:34-40). Paul knew that if the Ephesians lived in that kind of love, they would not only be powerful, fruitful witnesses, but would also be able to stand firm, no matter what.
- That they would be able to grasp how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ is, not just for them (that would be a narrow, shallow love), and not just for a time (that would be a short love), but for all people and forever. Understanding and living in that love was the motivating factor for all that Paul did, and he deeply desired that the Ephesians would be moved to be as powerfully effective and as passionately driven by that love as he himself was.
- That they would be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. This is a remarkable request. We often pray that we might experience God’s presence for a time or for a task. But Paul understood that there was so much more available to those who are part of God’s people. Jesus, though fully human, was completely and continually filled with God’s presence and power, and He told His followers that with the coming of the Holy Spirit they could be too (John 14:22-23; 17:20-21, 27). Paul was praying that reality into the lives of each of the Ephesian Christians.
Even though these five petitions are remarkable, more than the Ephesians might be able to believe for themselves as mere human beings, Paul finishes his prayer with a doxology that assures them that God can not only fulfill each and every one of those petitions, but He can do even more than he or they could ask or even imagine. Paul had no doubt about the power God had promised to exercise in answering the prayers of His people, so he asked in confidence, and he wanted the Ephesians to be just as confident that God would answer
Father, these requests are indeed remarkable. Paul did not limit his petitions to what might seem reasonable or merely practical. He knew that, in order to be all that they needed to be, the Ephesians needed supernatural power, passion and perseverance, so that is what he prayed for with his whole being. Lord, help us to pray as boldly as Paul, and with as much confidence in Your ability to do all that we ask, and even more than we can imagine. Amen.