2 Thessalonians 1
11Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, 12that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul was so proud of the Thessalonian church that he boasted of them “among the churches of God for [their] patience and faith in all [their] persecutions and tribulations that [they] endure” (2 Thessalonians 1:4). Paul is writing to encourage them in the persecution and hardship they are facing. And his prayer for them gives us some insight into Paul’s understanding of what they must have been thinking and feeling as they endured their suffering at the hands of unbelievers.
First, Paul redirected the Thessalonian believers’ focus from their present suffering to an eternal perspective on their position as citizens of God’s Kingdom. He encouraged them to live in light of this perspective by reminding them that upon Christ’s return He will “give you who are troubled rest” (2 Thessalonians 1:7) and will “repay with tribulation those who trouble you” (2 Thessalonians 1:8). And in light of this eternal perspective he prayed, “that our God would count you worthy of this calling.” The calling to which Paul is referring here is the same one about which he wrote to the Philippian church saying, “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). Paul is praying that the Thessalonian believers will remain faithful to the end and will not disqualify themselves through unbelief.
In the midst of suffering it is easy for us to lose sight of the eternal perspective and to focus only on our current unpleasant circumstances. This is especially true when our suffering is the result of the malicious words or deeds of another person or group. Our minds go toward thoughts of revenge for the injustice of our situation. Therefore, we need to heed Paul’s reminder that vengeance belongs to God, and that our responsibility in a situation in which we are suffering is to maintain our intimate walk with God and to guard our hearts from growing cold.
Let’s pray for:
Those whose hearts have grown cold as a result of their suffering.
Those who are being persecuted for their faith.
Those who are persecuting Christians.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Prayers of Paul 09
Romans 15
30Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me, 31that I may be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32that I may come to you with joy by the will of God, and may be refreshed together with you.
Paul prayed for believers in the churches that he and the other apostles had planted. Paul prayed for unbelievers to come to Christ. But Paul also prayed for himself, and he shared his need for prayer with others so that they could also pray for him.
Paul is writing to the Roman believers from Corinth during his third missionary journey. His plans are to travel from Corinth to Jerusalem to deliver an offering from the Gentile churches to the poor among the believers there. Then from Jerusalem he hopes to visit Rome on his way to Spain. Therefore, he is asking the Roman believers to join with him in praying for three things.
First, he asks them to pray “that [he] may be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe.” This request is perfectly understandable when you remember that Paul used to be a Pharisee. The Jews in Judea would know all too well that the man they knew as Saul had turned his back on their devotion to the Law of Moses to embrace the new ‘heresy’ being spread by the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. This made him an enemy in their eyes worthy of being stoned to death. In spite of this, Paul made his plans to travel to Jerusalem.
Second, Paul asks them to pray “that [his] service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints.” Paul’s “service” consisted of delivering an offering from the Gentile churches to the poor among the believers in Jerusalem. At first it seems strange that Paul would be concerned that this offering might not be accepted. Surely the Christians in Jerusalem wouldn’t be that ungrateful! But Bible commentators give two possible explanations for this concern. First, the Jewish believers in Jerusalem may still have harboured some degree of prejudice toward the Gentiles. And second, the Jewish believers in Jerusalem had probably heard that Paul advocated against the Gentile believers having to obey all of the Law, even preventing them from being circumcised. These two factors may have caused them to reject both the gift and the one delivering it.
Finally, Paul asks the Roman believers to pray that he “may come to [them] with joy by the will of God, and may be refreshed together with [them].” We can assume that Paul read and studied the Scriptures regularly, and we know that he prayed constantly. But the journey ahead would be difficult and that he was in for a tough time during his visit to Jerusalem. He knew that by the time he left Jerusalem he would be in need of some refreshment, and he was looking forward to being refreshed not by private study and prayer, but by sharing in fellowship and worship with the believers in Rome.
This week let’s pray:
That we would follow Paul’s example by sharing our burdens and needs with others who will pray for us.
That we would be faithful in prayer for others who need our prayers.
That we would recognise and take advantage of the refreshing that comes from sharing in fellowship and worship with other believers.
30Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me, 31that I may be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32that I may come to you with joy by the will of God, and may be refreshed together with you.
Paul prayed for believers in the churches that he and the other apostles had planted. Paul prayed for unbelievers to come to Christ. But Paul also prayed for himself, and he shared his need for prayer with others so that they could also pray for him.
Paul is writing to the Roman believers from Corinth during his third missionary journey. His plans are to travel from Corinth to Jerusalem to deliver an offering from the Gentile churches to the poor among the believers there. Then from Jerusalem he hopes to visit Rome on his way to Spain. Therefore, he is asking the Roman believers to join with him in praying for three things.
First, he asks them to pray “that [he] may be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe.” This request is perfectly understandable when you remember that Paul used to be a Pharisee. The Jews in Judea would know all too well that the man they knew as Saul had turned his back on their devotion to the Law of Moses to embrace the new ‘heresy’ being spread by the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. This made him an enemy in their eyes worthy of being stoned to death. In spite of this, Paul made his plans to travel to Jerusalem.
Second, Paul asks them to pray “that [his] service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints.” Paul’s “service” consisted of delivering an offering from the Gentile churches to the poor among the believers in Jerusalem. At first it seems strange that Paul would be concerned that this offering might not be accepted. Surely the Christians in Jerusalem wouldn’t be that ungrateful! But Bible commentators give two possible explanations for this concern. First, the Jewish believers in Jerusalem may still have harboured some degree of prejudice toward the Gentiles. And second, the Jewish believers in Jerusalem had probably heard that Paul advocated against the Gentile believers having to obey all of the Law, even preventing them from being circumcised. These two factors may have caused them to reject both the gift and the one delivering it.
Finally, Paul asks the Roman believers to pray that he “may come to [them] with joy by the will of God, and may be refreshed together with [them].” We can assume that Paul read and studied the Scriptures regularly, and we know that he prayed constantly. But the journey ahead would be difficult and that he was in for a tough time during his visit to Jerusalem. He knew that by the time he left Jerusalem he would be in need of some refreshment, and he was looking forward to being refreshed not by private study and prayer, but by sharing in fellowship and worship with the believers in Rome.
This week let’s pray:
That we would follow Paul’s example by sharing our burdens and needs with others who will pray for us.
That we would be faithful in prayer for others who need our prayers.
That we would recognise and take advantage of the refreshing that comes from sharing in fellowship and worship with other believers.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Prayers of Paul 08
1 Thessalonians 3
9How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? 10Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.
11Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. 12May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 13May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.
Paul wants the Thessalonian believers to be complete in their faith. The Greek work translated as “supply” means to complete thoroughly. He prays a similar thing for the Corinthian believers in 2 Corinthians 13:9, “And this also we pray, that you may be made complete.” Evidently, even Epaphras, one of Paul’s team members, had picked up Paul’s heart, since in his letter to the Colossians Paul writes, “Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”
A building is only as strong as its foundation. Before a building can be completed its foundation must be secure. The same can be said of believers. Before a believer can grow to maturity, his or her spiritual foundation must also be secure. In preparation for Paul’s visit, during which he hopes to build into the lives of the Thessalonian believers, Paul prays for their foundations to be strengthened in two ways.
First, Paul prays, “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else.” It’s no surprise that Paul considers love to be an important part of a believer’s foundation. Jesus summed up the whole of the law in one word, “Love.” But there are two interesting aspects to Paul’s prayer regarding love. First, he identifies God as the source of love—not the believers. God lays this foundation in us. It is not something we can manufacture ourselves. Second, he prays that the Lord would make their love increase and overflow. The bigger the foundation, the bigger the building that can be built. Paul wants large capacity believers, so he prays for large foundations.
Second, Paul prays, “May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.” Again, he identifies God as the source—this time of strength. Foundations need to be strong, first to support the weight of what is built on top of them, and then to resist the storms that will threaten to destroy the building. The Greek word translated as "heart" means the thoughts or feelings. Our mind is a powerful gift from God. What we think and feel determines our response to adversity. But we can be angry and not sin. We can be disappointed without becoming hopeless. We can be sad without becoming lost in depression. All these are possible, not in our own strength, but as God strengthens our hearts.
Today, let’s pray that…
Our foundation of love will increase to overflowing.
Our hearts would be strengthened and able to withstand every storm.
God will finish His work in us, making us complete and mature.
9How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? 10Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.
11Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. 12May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 13May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.
Paul wants the Thessalonian believers to be complete in their faith. The Greek work translated as “supply” means to complete thoroughly. He prays a similar thing for the Corinthian believers in 2 Corinthians 13:9, “And this also we pray, that you may be made complete.” Evidently, even Epaphras, one of Paul’s team members, had picked up Paul’s heart, since in his letter to the Colossians Paul writes, “Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”
A building is only as strong as its foundation. Before a building can be completed its foundation must be secure. The same can be said of believers. Before a believer can grow to maturity, his or her spiritual foundation must also be secure. In preparation for Paul’s visit, during which he hopes to build into the lives of the Thessalonian believers, Paul prays for their foundations to be strengthened in two ways.
First, Paul prays, “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else.” It’s no surprise that Paul considers love to be an important part of a believer’s foundation. Jesus summed up the whole of the law in one word, “Love.” But there are two interesting aspects to Paul’s prayer regarding love. First, he identifies God as the source of love—not the believers. God lays this foundation in us. It is not something we can manufacture ourselves. Second, he prays that the Lord would make their love increase and overflow. The bigger the foundation, the bigger the building that can be built. Paul wants large capacity believers, so he prays for large foundations.
Second, Paul prays, “May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.” Again, he identifies God as the source—this time of strength. Foundations need to be strong, first to support the weight of what is built on top of them, and then to resist the storms that will threaten to destroy the building. The Greek word translated as "heart" means the thoughts or feelings. Our mind is a powerful gift from God. What we think and feel determines our response to adversity. But we can be angry and not sin. We can be disappointed without becoming hopeless. We can be sad without becoming lost in depression. All these are possible, not in our own strength, but as God strengthens our hearts.
Today, let’s pray that…
Our foundation of love will increase to overflowing.
Our hearts would be strengthened and able to withstand every storm.
God will finish His work in us, making us complete and mature.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Prayers of Paul 07
All of us want to please God. But did you know that the Bible tells us exactly how to please Him? Colossians 1:9-12 says…
9For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.
Before doing anything, we first need to know God’s will. Paul prays that the Colossian believers may not only know His will, but that they will “be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” Paul wants his readers to be complete in their knowledge and understanding of God’s will for them. There’s no room for doubt or uncertainty when one is filled with this knowledge.
Once they’ve fully understood God’s will, Paul then wants his readers to walk appropriately in it. Paul says that this will not only be pleasing to God, but that it will fully please Him. Stop and think about that for a moment. We don’t have to do anything to earn God’s love, but we can do something to make Him fully pleased with us! Paul goes on to pray about three elements that must be present in order for us to fully please God.
First, Paul prays that his readers may please God by “being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” It’s not enough for us to know God’s will. We have to do it. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” And when we walk in the works that God has prepared for us, He will make sure we are fruitful. Part of God’s will for us is to know Him more and more. In order to do this we MUST read and study the Bible. There is no adequate substitute for regular, personal delving into God’s Word.
Second, Paul prays that his readers may please God by being “strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy.” God’s strength is available to all believers. So why don’t all believers walk in His strength? The answer is that many believers are so often too busy trying to walk in their own strength. It’s a subtle trap. As long as everything is going well, we can be fruitful in what we are doing without much reliance on God. But the real test comes in bad times. Then, only if we have trained ourselves to rely on God’s limitless strength, will we be able to have the patience and longsuffering to remain fruitful even during the most intense trials.
Finally, Paul prays that his readers may please God by “giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.” All believers have received an inheritance from the Father—eternal life. We benefit from this inheritance when we walk “in the light.” In the light we can see the good works that He has prepared for us; we can see Him and get to know Him more; and we can see His presence and power in the midst of our trails. This enables us to be thankful in the good as well as the bad.
Let’s pray for the following…
That we will be filled with the knowledge of His will for our lives.
That we will be fruitful in the works He has prepared for us.
For every opportunity we have to know Him more.
That we will be strong in Him, not try to cope in our own strength.
And finally, let’s give Him thanks for all that we have received from Him.
9For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.
Before doing anything, we first need to know God’s will. Paul prays that the Colossian believers may not only know His will, but that they will “be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” Paul wants his readers to be complete in their knowledge and understanding of God’s will for them. There’s no room for doubt or uncertainty when one is filled with this knowledge.
Once they’ve fully understood God’s will, Paul then wants his readers to walk appropriately in it. Paul says that this will not only be pleasing to God, but that it will fully please Him. Stop and think about that for a moment. We don’t have to do anything to earn God’s love, but we can do something to make Him fully pleased with us! Paul goes on to pray about three elements that must be present in order for us to fully please God.
First, Paul prays that his readers may please God by “being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” It’s not enough for us to know God’s will. We have to do it. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” And when we walk in the works that God has prepared for us, He will make sure we are fruitful. Part of God’s will for us is to know Him more and more. In order to do this we MUST read and study the Bible. There is no adequate substitute for regular, personal delving into God’s Word.
Second, Paul prays that his readers may please God by being “strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy.” God’s strength is available to all believers. So why don’t all believers walk in His strength? The answer is that many believers are so often too busy trying to walk in their own strength. It’s a subtle trap. As long as everything is going well, we can be fruitful in what we are doing without much reliance on God. But the real test comes in bad times. Then, only if we have trained ourselves to rely on God’s limitless strength, will we be able to have the patience and longsuffering to remain fruitful even during the most intense trials.
Finally, Paul prays that his readers may please God by “giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.” All believers have received an inheritance from the Father—eternal life. We benefit from this inheritance when we walk “in the light.” In the light we can see the good works that He has prepared for us; we can see Him and get to know Him more; and we can see His presence and power in the midst of our trails. This enables us to be thankful in the good as well as the bad.
Let’s pray for the following…
That we will be filled with the knowledge of His will for our lives.
That we will be fruitful in the works He has prepared for us.
For every opportunity we have to know Him more.
That we will be strong in Him, not try to cope in our own strength.
And finally, let’s give Him thanks for all that we have received from Him.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Prayers of Paul 06
Ephesians 3
14For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—19to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
What a prayer! Paul is covering every way available for us to experience God’s complete and perfect presence in our lives. He prays to the Father; asks for the strengthening of the Holy Spirit; and desires for Christ to take up residence within believers. Paul wants believers to be strengthened in their inner man; to have hearts that are fit to be dwelling places for Christ; and to have minds that can grasp and possess the multi-dimensional and infinite love of God. In short, he wants the believers to be complete in God through experiencing (or being filled by) His fullness. But how can we as finite beings contain all of God’s infinite fullness? It seems impossible!
The answer lies in the fact that Paul is praying to a God “who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.” This infinite God loves us so much that He actually made a Way for weak, finite, sinful humans to become acceptable vessels to contain His presence and power. What Way?… through simple faith in Jesus Christ.
But there’s a catch! No individual believer or group of believers can comprehend all that is God. It will require “all the saints” to contain all that God wants to give of Himself. In other words, it is in the Church universal, the Bride of Christ, which God has chosen to deposit His divine attributes. This is not the flawed and divided form of the Church that is currently visible. It is the pure, spotless Church that Jesus Himself is building and for which He will ultimately return.
Let’s praise God for indwelling us with His presence and power!
14For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—19to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
What a prayer! Paul is covering every way available for us to experience God’s complete and perfect presence in our lives. He prays to the Father; asks for the strengthening of the Holy Spirit; and desires for Christ to take up residence within believers. Paul wants believers to be strengthened in their inner man; to have hearts that are fit to be dwelling places for Christ; and to have minds that can grasp and possess the multi-dimensional and infinite love of God. In short, he wants the believers to be complete in God through experiencing (or being filled by) His fullness. But how can we as finite beings contain all of God’s infinite fullness? It seems impossible!
The answer lies in the fact that Paul is praying to a God “who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.” This infinite God loves us so much that He actually made a Way for weak, finite, sinful humans to become acceptable vessels to contain His presence and power. What Way?… through simple faith in Jesus Christ.
But there’s a catch! No individual believer or group of believers can comprehend all that is God. It will require “all the saints” to contain all that God wants to give of Himself. In other words, it is in the Church universal, the Bride of Christ, which God has chosen to deposit His divine attributes. This is not the flawed and divided form of the Church that is currently visible. It is the pure, spotless Church that Jesus Himself is building and for which He will ultimately return.
Let’s praise God for indwelling us with His presence and power!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Prayers of Paul 05
Ephesians 1 – continued again
15Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe.
In the previous two reflections, we saw that, with their spiritual eyes opened through the gifts of wisdom and revelation, the Ephesian believers will then be able to ‘see’ what The Father has given to them. Paul lists 3 things he wants them to realise that God has given to them: His calling, His inheritance and His power.
The third thing Paul prays for is that they would know “what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe.” Another version puts it this way, “his incomparably great power for us who believe.” Paul is running out of adjectives to describe the immensity of what the Father has made available to them!
This is more than the power and authority that God gives to believers in order to be His witnesses and to establish His Kingdom. This is God’s undiluted power exercised by Him personally on behalf of believers. It cannot be measured, and it cannot be limited. It is God sovereignly interrupting the natural order of things that He has put in place.
The verses that follow are full of references to God actively and effectively exercising His power...
Eph 1:19-20, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
Jesus didn’t raise Himself from the dead—the Father raised Him from the dead using the same power that He extends toward us. Imagine the God of the universe actively working on your behalf with the same power He used when He raised Christ from the dead!
How do believers experience this power? It is not something we can conjure up or control. It is not something we can anticipate or predict. It is a supernatural manifestation of God’s will and purpose. It is first experienced when a person responds to the Gospel and is immediately translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. Then, as that believer walks in the works that God prepared for him or her, this power is further experienced through God’s divine presence, provision, protection, guidance, encouragement and enabling.
First, Let’s praise God for His mighty power! Then let’s pray that:
We will see God’s power at work in unbelievers coming to Christ.
We will see God’s power at work in our circumstances.
15Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe.
In the previous two reflections, we saw that, with their spiritual eyes opened through the gifts of wisdom and revelation, the Ephesian believers will then be able to ‘see’ what The Father has given to them. Paul lists 3 things he wants them to realise that God has given to them: His calling, His inheritance and His power.
The third thing Paul prays for is that they would know “what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe.” Another version puts it this way, “his incomparably great power for us who believe.” Paul is running out of adjectives to describe the immensity of what the Father has made available to them!
This is more than the power and authority that God gives to believers in order to be His witnesses and to establish His Kingdom. This is God’s undiluted power exercised by Him personally on behalf of believers. It cannot be measured, and it cannot be limited. It is God sovereignly interrupting the natural order of things that He has put in place.
The verses that follow are full of references to God actively and effectively exercising His power...
Eph 1:19-20, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
Jesus didn’t raise Himself from the dead—the Father raised Him from the dead using the same power that He extends toward us. Imagine the God of the universe actively working on your behalf with the same power He used when He raised Christ from the dead!
How do believers experience this power? It is not something we can conjure up or control. It is not something we can anticipate or predict. It is a supernatural manifestation of God’s will and purpose. It is first experienced when a person responds to the Gospel and is immediately translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. Then, as that believer walks in the works that God prepared for him or her, this power is further experienced through God’s divine presence, provision, protection, guidance, encouragement and enabling.
First, Let’s praise God for His mighty power! Then let’s pray that:
We will see God’s power at work in unbelievers coming to Christ.
We will see God’s power at work in our circumstances.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Prayers of Paul 04
Ephesians 1 - continued
15Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe.
Last time we saw that, with their spiritual eyes opened through the gifts of wisdom and revelation, the Ephesian believers will then be able to ‘see’ what The Father has given to them. Paul lists 3 things he wants them to realise that God has given to them: His calling, His inheritance and His power.
The second thing Paul prays for is that they would know “what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” Another version puts it this way, “what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints.” But what is this inheritance, and who is receiving it?
‘His’ refers to The Father. But God is not receiving the inheritance, He is giving it. ‘The saints’ then, are the recipients of the inheritance. Remember, Paul is praying for the believers in Ephesus to receive all that God has given them. He wants the Ephesian church to know the full extent of what is available to them.
The question remains, what is this inheritance? By ‘riches’ Paul is not referring to worldly wealth or material possessions. He is trying to convey the magnitude of this gift being given. It is infinite, inexhaustible and eternal. How could an inheritance from God be anything else? What is this inheritance? It is life—eternal life, infinite in both quantity and quality. And though the full extent will only be known in eternity, Paul wants the Ephesians to begin appropriating it there and then.
And what about us here and now? Ed Strong said we receive our inheritance in two ways, individually and corporately. Both individually and corporately, God assigns us the details of our inheritance: the territory that He has given us to conquer.
As we pray, let’s ask the same for us:
That we will realise that as children of God, we are receiving the same inheritance as the Ephesians.
That we will never fall into a victim or pauper mentality.
That we will live in light of the riches of God available to us.
That individually, we will appropriate our own unique inheritances.
That your local church will appropriate its corporate inheritance.
15Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe.
Last time we saw that, with their spiritual eyes opened through the gifts of wisdom and revelation, the Ephesian believers will then be able to ‘see’ what The Father has given to them. Paul lists 3 things he wants them to realise that God has given to them: His calling, His inheritance and His power.
The second thing Paul prays for is that they would know “what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” Another version puts it this way, “what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints.” But what is this inheritance, and who is receiving it?
‘His’ refers to The Father. But God is not receiving the inheritance, He is giving it. ‘The saints’ then, are the recipients of the inheritance. Remember, Paul is praying for the believers in Ephesus to receive all that God has given them. He wants the Ephesian church to know the full extent of what is available to them.
The question remains, what is this inheritance? By ‘riches’ Paul is not referring to worldly wealth or material possessions. He is trying to convey the magnitude of this gift being given. It is infinite, inexhaustible and eternal. How could an inheritance from God be anything else? What is this inheritance? It is life—eternal life, infinite in both quantity and quality. And though the full extent will only be known in eternity, Paul wants the Ephesians to begin appropriating it there and then.
And what about us here and now? Ed Strong said we receive our inheritance in two ways, individually and corporately. Both individually and corporately, God assigns us the details of our inheritance: the territory that He has given us to conquer.
As we pray, let’s ask the same for us:
That we will realise that as children of God, we are receiving the same inheritance as the Ephesians.
That we will never fall into a victim or pauper mentality.
That we will live in light of the riches of God available to us.
That individually, we will appropriate our own unique inheritances.
That your local church will appropriate its corporate inheritance.
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