Journey Through The Bible
     Old Testament Reading: 2 Samuel 5-7
     New Testament Reading: Ephesians 3

I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:16-19).

This passage is the second of two prayers recorded in Ephesians. Both prayers deal with the spiritual condition of the Believer and not the physical needs of the body. Certainly, it is not wrong to pray for physical and material needs. But too often, our prayers focus only on them and fail to touch on the deeper spiritual needs of the heart.

First, Paul prays for spiritual strength. He prayed that they be strengthened with power in your inner being through His Spirit (v16).Spiritual power is a mark of every Christian who submits to God’s Word and Spirit. It is not reserved for some special class of Christian, but for all those who discipline themselves to walk daily with God. As we age, our outer, physical person becomes weaker. But our inner, spiritual person should grow stronger through the Holy Spirit. He will energize, revitalize, and empower the obedient, committed Christian.

Next, Paul prays for a deeper experience with Christ. He prayed, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (v17).Christ indwells every believer at the moment of salvation, but Paul is praying for a deeper experience between Christ and His people. Paul yearns for Christ to settle down and feel at home in their hearts. Jesus said, If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him (John 14:23).

Third, Paul prays for the understanding of God’s great love. He prays they may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge (v18-19a). Paul’s concern is that we grasp the vast expanses of the love of God. Knowledge of Christ’s love is far beyond the capability of human reason and experience. Isn’t it exciting to know that no matter how much we learn and experience God’s love for us, there is still more to learn?

Finally, Paul prays for filling with the fullness of God. He prays so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (v19b). The means of our fullness is the Holy Spirit, and the measure of our fullness is God himself. We like to measure ourselves by the weakest Christians we know and boast, “Well, I’m better than they are.” Paul tells us that the measure is Christ and we cannot boast about anything. Human comprehension of the fullness of God is impossible, but believers can experience the greatness of God in their lives. It results from total devotion to Him.

What a great example Paul’s prayer is for us today. How different our churches would be and how much glory and honor we would bring to God, if only we would pray as Paul did for the spiritual needs of one another.