The Prayers of the Bible 3 – Ephesians 3:14-21

The follower of Jesus Christ finds prayer to be as necessary as air. Prayer is half of spiritual breathing. Spiritual breathing is breathing in the word of God, God’s heart to us, and breathing out our prayers to him in response. If we don’t have prayer, we can’t breathe. But because of the fallenness and brokenness in the world, we all have spiritual asthma. We have trouble breathing. The cure for our spiritual asthma is the grace of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We will need the medicine of the gospel for the rest of our lives. We find one of the best medicines for our spiritual asthma in the prayers of the Bible. It helps us with breathing in, the Scriptures, and it helps us with breathing out, praying the prayers of Scriptures.

We find actual prayers all over the Bible. But especially in the letters of Paul, we discover numerous prayers. In most of his letters to churches, he included one or more prayers in the body of the letter. Paul was a great man of prayer. He was so because he learned a great secret that is an open secret. And that secret is that we all desperately need the grace of God, and prayer is a doorway into that grace.

The letters of Paul were written to address the needs of the churches, and because of that, his letters are very practical and, at the same time, very theological. As a result, the prayers of Paul in his letters are very practical and theological. Prayer, by its very nature, is practical and theological. So, when we think about any of the prayers of Paul, we learn how to relate to God in the ordinary everyday struggles of life.

In this study, we want to look at the prayer of Paul in Ephesians 3:14-21. This prayer is set in the context of Ephesians, in which Paul describes his call from God to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ to the Gentiles. He does this by explaining the eternal purpose of God to bring many to salvation. But in Paul’s ministry of preaching the gospel, he often faced suffering through persecution. In fact, Paul was writing this letter from a Roman prison. In his concern for the Ephesian believers, he asks them not to lose heart over his present suffering, “So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory” (3:13). Into that context, he prays the prayer of 3:14-21. This prayer is for their present need, but it has application to any need or struggle in which we may lose heart.

We notice three parts to the flow of Paul’s prayer. In the first part of the prayer (3:14-15), Paul addresses the Father for the needs of the Ephesians, “For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.” The Ephesian believers are in danger of losing heart because Paul is suffering persecution. The best way for Paul to help them in their need is to pray to the Father for them and send them the prayer so they know just what he is praying. The second part of the prayer is the heart of the prayer, consisting of two petitions (3:16-19). Then the third and final part of the prayer is the doxology (3:20-21).

Two Petitions

Prayer is not exclusively, but most often, asking God for things. He calls us to come and ask him for the things we need, “Ask and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7:7). In this central part of the prayer, Paul asks for two things every believer needs: strength and love. Losing heart is being discouraged. When we are discouraged, we need strength from God to carry on, and we need to know that Jesus loves us and has a plan for our lives. In this first petition, Paul asks the Father to give the Ephesian believers strength, “That according to the riches of his glory, he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (3: 16-17a).

There are four elements in this first petition: (1) The source of the strength is God’s grace (according to the riches of his glory he may grant you). (2) The agent of the strength is the Holy Spirit (through his Holy Spirit). (3) The location of the strength is the heart of believers (in your inner being). (4) The purpose of the strength is intimate fellowship with Jesus (that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith). Christ already dwells in their hearts by faith because they are already believers. But in their struggle with discouragement, they need to experience the presence of Jesus in a real and personal way. Paul prays that the Holy Spirit will strengthen them for that experience. So, in our struggles with discouragement, we need the presence of Jesus to give us strength.

The second petition is a request to know the full dimensions of Christ’s love. “That you being rooted and grounded in love, may have the capacity to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (3:17b-19). In this second petition, there are three elements: (1) The position of believers with regard to Christ’s love is that they are rooted and grounded in love. They are saved. At salvation, they knew for the first time the love of God in Jesus. Being rooted and grounded is the stability they have in that love. (2) The present need is for a deeper grasp and experience of Jesus’ love. They must comprehend the full dimensions of his love (breadth, length, height, and depth). This love is knowledge, but it surpasses knowledge; it is experience. (3) The purpose of this experience of Jesus’ love is that they may be filled with all the fullness of God. The love of Jesus is demonstrated in the cross. Coming to know Jesus’ love in a deeper way is coming to grip with the meaning of the cross for salvation and for daily life. “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me”  (Galatians 2:20).

Doxology 

The prayer of Paul ends with a doxology. A doxology is a formal praise ascribing glory to God. Doxologies often have the basic form with variations, “To God be glory and honor and praise.” In this context, we have a doxological form that fits the need and emphasis of the prayer. The people Paul is praying for are discouraged because of persecution. Paul frames his praise to God to fit the needs of his readers. The first part of the doxology is directed to God, describing him in terms that speak to the needs of the people, “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than we ask or think, according to the power at work within us” (3:20). The Ephesians need to praise, and trust a God who is able to much more than they are asking him or can even think to ask him because he is at work in them. All discouraged people need to trust and praise the God who is able.

The second part of the doxology gives the praise, “To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (3:21). Again, the praise emphasizes what the Ephesians need. God gets glory in the church, even a struggling and discouraged church. This kind of church can bring glory to God because the glory comes from Christ Jesus. The church is Jesus’ church. He builds it and leads it to accomplish his mission in the world. The glory the church brings God through Christ Jesus is eternal. No matter how weak they feel, their lives are making an eternal difference in the plan of God.

Conclusion

The prayer of Paul in Ephesians 3:14-21 is a master class on deep, rich theological prayer that perfectly fits the practical needs of the people for whom he is praying. This prayer is one that should be meditated on over and over again and prayed often for ourselves, our families, and our churches. It is a prayer powerhouse to chase away the dark clouds of discouragement that can invade the hearts of God’s people. It is also a prayer that teaches us how to pray and empowers us to fulfill God’s purposes for our lives and our churches.