The Power Of Prayer

The apostle Paul has been leading us through a grand celebration of the Gospel, that in Christ, by grace and through faith, we’ve been reconciled to God our Father, and we have been unified as a new family in God—and that Jews and Gentiles, these very different people, have now become a multi-ethnic family in Jesus Christ. And all of this, Paul said, as we looked at last time in Ephesians 3, verses 11 and 12, is “through Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.”

And this is amazing. Because of Jesus Christ, all of us, Jews and Gentiles alike, have access to the throne room of grace, and how does he say we come? With boldness, confidence, and access. And having celebrated this offer, this access that we have to our Father, through Jesus Christ, Paul now says, “I’m going to show you the way.” And he launches into what is one of the most powerful and glorious prayers in all the Bible. It’s in Ephesians, chapter 3, verses 14 down to 21. If you’ll grab your Bibles and join me there—Ephesians 3:14–21. You’ll find today’s reading on page 977 in the pew Bible if you want to pull that out. 977. If you’ll listen as I read, this is the Word of the Lord.

Ephesians 3:14, “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 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 through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength 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. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

Amen. What a prayer. What a prayer.

I want to talk with you this morning about the power of prayer, the power of prayer. We’re going to see the basis of prayer, the grace of prayer, and the confidence of prayer this morning, the basis, grace, and confidence of prayer.

If you’ve ever wondered if your prayers matter, you need to lean in. This one’s for you. Okay? There’s some glorious stuff ahead for you. We all need it desperately, so let’s bow our heads. Let’s pray and ask the Lord to teach us about the power of prayer.

Heavenly Father, we come to you this morning, desperate and needy. Without you we are dead. Without you we are helpless. Without you there’s nothing we can hope for, but in you is life and hope and help. And so, meet us here, we pray, by the power of your Spirit, for the glory of Jesus Christ.

And all of God’s people said? Amen. Amen.

So, first of all, the basis of prayer, the basis of prayer. Look at verse 14 with me. “For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.”

Just pause there. So, he starts out and he says, “For this reason.” What reason, Paul? Well, the “this” refers to everything he’s written in the first three chapters of the book of Ephesians, so we can’t quite summarize it, but he’s basically saying,

“Because of all that God has done for us in Christ to reconcile us to Himself and with one another; because we are chosen for adoption; because we are redeemed by the blood of Christ; because we are sealed by the Holy Spirit; because we are inheriting the promises of God; because God’s resurrection power is at work in us, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead; because Christ has torn down the dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles; because we all together now have access to the Father with boldness and confidence, for this reason, for all of these reasons, because of all God has done for us in Christ by the Spirit, I bow my knees before the Father.”

Now there’s a blend of imagery here in this sentence that’s on purpose. The first image is a throne room. “I bow my knees.” It’s a throne room image.

Now, many of us, when we think of bowing our knees, we think of prayer. But bowing knees was not the normal posture of prayer in the first century. Most times when you prayed you stood to pray. You’ll see that all over the Bible, people standing to pray. Kneeling, on the other hand, was most commonly associated with kings, with majesty, royalty. You kneeled before a king.

So, when Paul says, “I bow my knees,” he’s acknowledging here that God is the rightful Ruler of all things, that He is the King of the universe. He’s the Sovereign of all creation, He’s the Lord of all the nations, and He’s the King of all the cosmos. Right? He is the King, and we kneel before Him.

But it’s interesting that instead of saying, “I kneel before the King,” He doesn’t say king. What does he say? He says, “I kneel before the Father.” The Father. Which is the imagery of family. This is like a child coming before his daddy. Right? And Paul blends these two images that don’t normally go alongside each other, but he blends them together on purpose, because the King of all the universe in Jesus Christ, is our Father, isn’t He? The King of all the universe in Jesus is our Father because of what Christ has done.

John 1, verse 12: “Yet to all who received Jesus, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” And as children of God, we have access to our Father. And remember those words that Paul said in the passage we looked at last time. That access is bold, and it is confident. It is access to our Father.

Now, it’s been a while since we’ve had small children in the White House, but I want you to imagine you’re part of the presidential family. Your dad is the President of the United States, the most powerful person on Earth, with all those gatekeepers that are normally making sure that his schedule is cleared and he doesn’t get bothered. He’s almost impossible to get time with for the average person. Right? And yet, as his child, if you need a drink at two in the morning, you just walk right in. You wake him up and you say, “Daddy, can you give me a drink?”

Listen, no one would dare wake up the president unless it was like a global emergency, and yet a child can wake up his father for a drink at 2 a.m. This is amazing. Listen. A child has the boldest, most confident access of anybody. Right?

Friends, God is the King of the universe, and we owe Him our full allegiance, and yet, He is also our Father, and we approach Him with full access because we are His beloved children.

And notice. He’s not just the Father of each one of us as individuals. He is, as Paul says, the Father from whom every family in heaven and Earth is named, every family in heaven and on Earth is named. Remember God promised that in Abraham all the families of the earth would be blessed. Right? All the families of earth, Genesis 12, verse 3. God’s heart beats not just for the Jewish family who would come through the line of Abraham, but for all the families of the earth, all nations, all the Gentiles, all the peoples. And now in Jesus Christ, that blessing is coming true. It’s coming into reality as God brings salvation to the Jews and the Gentiles together as one new family, by grace, through faith in Christ. And so now we have this multi-ethnic family of all peoples, this church that’s being assembled from every nation, tribe, tongue, people, and language, around the love of God, the mercy of Christ, the sacrifice of what Jesus has done. And we are now adopted as His children, we are called by His name, we are members of His family, we are heirs of God’s glory, and so we can come before Him as His children with boldness and access Him with confidence because our Father loves His multi-ethnic family.

Our Father loves His multi-ethnic family. Friends, in Jesus Christ, you and I, we have a Father who adores us. You are completely known. You are fully loved. You are entirely forgiven. You are totally accepted. Your Father smiles on your life. He rejoices over you with singing. He delights in you for Jesus’ sake.

And so come to Him like you’re wanted because you are. Come to Him like you are wanted because you are. Your Father loves to give good gifts to His children. That’s the basis of prayer. Our Father loves His multi-ethnic family. And if you’ve trusted in Jesus Christ, if you are a son or daughter of God by grace through faith in Christ, this includes you. And so, you get to come with bold, confident access to your kingly Father. That’s the basis of prayer.

Secondly, the grace of prayer, the grace of prayer. Paul is now going to articulate three prayer requests in quick succession. The first one is verse 16 to 17a (the first part of 17). The second prayer request is 17b to 19a (the first part of 19). And the third one is in the back half of 19 (19b). And each one uses its own imagery to try to get across the nature of the prayer request.

So, let’s dig in to each one.

The first prayer request draws on the imagery of hospitality. Hospitality. Look at verse 16, “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 through faith.”

And let’s just unpack this line-by-line. Paul says, “I’m praying according to the riches of his glory.” Now, how rich are the glories of God? How rich? Infinite. Comprehensive. Limitless. Right?

The riches of His glory. Paul says, “Look, I’m praying in accordance with the bounty of your endless and manifold glories. Given how rich your glories are, I’m going to make a request that is proportionate, commensurate, on the level of your glory. Get ready God. It’s a big ask I’m bringing before you. It’s according to your glory.”

Now, what is his request? “I ask that he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.” He’s praying for interior fortification, for inner reinforcements to be strengthened on the inside of who we are.

This is a really weird request, isn’t it?

Growing up, I had a friend named Jesse, and he had a neighbor who kept exotic pets, and we loved to go look at them. And one of the pets that he had was a mountain lion. Okay? Now this is a different level, right? They had a mountain lion. It lived in their garage, and it had a little door that went out into an enclosure in the back yard. I am not kidding. It was the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen, but it was awesome. Right? It was awesome.

Now they didn’t just throw the mountain lion in the garage. Right? They had to reinforce the garage before they put the mountain lion in it. So, they put metal bars in the walls and in the ceiling, and in the door. I mean, they had to reinforce it, the structure. They had to strengthen the interior structure of the garage in order to make a home for something that strong and powerful. That’s the idea.

Paul says, “Your inner being needs strengthening. It needs reinforcement.” Why? “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” Jesus wants to move into your life in all the fullness of who He is. But you can’t handle it yet. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, Jesus already indwells you by the power of His Holy Spirit. He’s already inside of you, and yet, one of the Holy Spirit’s jobs is to make you increasingly hospitable for more and more of the presence of the glory of Christ, so that He might abide in you in the fullness of who He is because the reality is: in the interior of our lives, we are not ready for the fullness of the glories of Christ.

If Jesus were to show up in your life in all of His glory and all of His power and all of His might, in all of His strength—ff you have the undiluted potency of Christ within you right here, right now, you could not handle it. The glory would overwhelm you. Your brokenness would shatter and collapse under the weight of His glory. Your sinful self could not endure the holy presence of the glory of Christ. So, for Christ to dwell in your hearts fully by faith we need the Holy Spirit to reinforce our inner being, to shore us up, to make us strong enough to become the habitat of the glory of Jesus Christ.

And it will take all the riches of the glory of our Father to transform our lowly lives by the power of His Spirit into a place that is hospitable for the undiluted, unfiltered, unveiled glory of the Son of God to freely dwell within us.

So, we need, you and I, we need the Father to give us the Spirit to prepare our lives to receive the indwelling fullness of the Son. You see the triune God at work there collaborating. The Father gives us the Spirit to make ready for the Son. It’s a glorious first prayer request (Isn’t it?) that the Father would give us the Spirit to make way for the Son so that He might indwell us in the fullness of His glory forever. Whew. That’s the first prayer request.

The second prayer request draws on the imagery of botany. Botany! Plants! 17b: “That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength 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.”

Again, let’s look at this line-by-line. He says, “You, being rooted and grounded in love.” This is like the plant. “And I pray for you who have the roots of your faith put down into the soil, the ground, of the love of God, you are rooted there and the seed of faith that has fallen in and taken root and is now growing and alive that’s been planted there, and is nurtured by the love of God, I now pray that it might be strong and comprehensive with all the saints to understand what is the breadth and length and height and depth.”

So, imagine now a tree that is rooted and alive in the love of God, the soil of the love of God, now branching out, now reaching its boughs higher and wider, tall and broad, sending its roots ever deeper as its branches stretch toward the sky. Imagine this tree becoming strong and stable and resilient and flourishing. And growing, not in isolation by itself, but in a grove, in a forest of trees, “together with all the saints,” Paul says. Roots intermingled in a root map creating stability with one another, cross-pollinating, multiplying, nurturing, spreading over hills and valleys, a great woodland of verdant green, broad and tall and spreading and deep, a mighty diverse forest with variegated boughs reaching wide to drink in all the fullness of the noonday sun in its glory. That’s the picture.

I want you, every single one of you together with all the saints, this multi-ethnic family, to grow strong, to mature together so that you can together drink in all the fullness of the love of Christ that is gloriously shining upon you “so that you might know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.”

Friends, there is more glory of the love of God shining than you can possibly take in right now. There’s more glory shining than you could ever take in. But Paul says, “I pray that together you’ll grow strong enough to one day take it all in.”

The word for “know” here—to know the love of Christ is an experiential “know”. It’s the “I know you”—that kind of phrase. To experience for yourself the relational love of Christ, that’s where this life is going—this planted life in us. You’ve been planted in the love of God and now you’re learning to live in the love of God for one another, Jews and Gentiles, in one family. That’s not easy, learning to love people very much not like you. But as you grow in love for one another, you will find yourself becoming strengthened to comprehend more and more the love of Christ.

Friends, listen. We will never know the fullness of the love of Christ until we learn to love one another. We will never know the fullness of the love of Christ until we learn to love one another. Our love for one another is the governor and gatekeeper of the love of Christ for us. When we love those that our Father loves, who are not like us, we are expanding in our understanding of the breadth and height and length and depth of the love of Christ, that includes people you would normally never love, and yet your Father has loved them and chosen them, and so your love is expanding to love all that Christ loves, all that the Father loves, all that the Spirit loves. And in loving all that your Father loves, you begin to step into the fullness of the love of Christ.

You know, in church we have these people we sometimes might label as “Extra Grace Required.” (chuckles) Have you ever met an “Extra Grace Required” person in church? Every community has at least one of them. And if you’re thinking around your community or your small group, and you’re like “Hmmm, I don’t think we actually have anyone like that in our community,” then it’s you. (laughter) That’s how you know.

And, friends, the reason the church is full of so many “Extra Grace Required” individuals (Are you ready?) is because Jesus loves them. It’s because Jesus died for them. It’s because Jesus is making them glorious. Do you believe that? The people that drive you nuts in the family of God are eternal beings, destined for glory. You’re going to spend forever with them. You might as well learn to love them right here, right now. And here’s the reality. Here’s the reality. We’re all “Extra Grace Required.” Aren’t we? We’re all “Extra Grace Required.” And if you’re honest, you have moments when you wonder how God could ever love you.

And maybe the reason God has put all these “Extra Grace Required” people around you, if you can begin to believe that God really does love them, I think you’ll start to believe that God really does love you, because you’re “Extra Grace Required” just like me.

We love because He first loved us. And in loving one another, we discover the depth and height and width and breadth of His love for us. That’s how it works.

So that’s the second request, that the love of God that we’re rooted in would grow strong in this community of saints by the Spirit in order that we might experience the multi-dimensional greatness of the love of Christ. Whew. That’s the second request.

Now the third, the third request draws on the imagery of maturation. 19b, “That you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

When somebody grows up we say, they’re full grown. Full grown. They’ve filled out. Right? They’ve reached fullness of maturity. In the very next paragraph Paul’s going to use this same imagery in chapter 4, verse 13, when he says, “We will all attain (He’s talking about the body of Christ.) to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Same word. Fullness.   

So, this idea of fullness is not water pouring into a pot. This is fullness, as in full maturity. Full growth. Paul has in mind here that we have grown up into ourselves and become like our Father, mature and complete, filled with His character, full of His likeness, filled by Him, and fully like Him. This is, in many ways, the capstone prayer request that brings together the previous two requests.

To the Father. We’re asking that the Father would give us the Spirit to prepare the way for the Son to dwell in us in glory, and we’re praying that the love that we’re rooted in would grow strong in this community of saints in order that we might experience the multi-dimensional greatness of the love of Christ. And both of those are headed toward this end, that we might be filled with all the fullness of God and be fully like Him forever more.

Now notice in these prayer requests, they are deeply triune. Do you see this? Paul is asking God the Father to strengthen us by God the Spirit in order that we might receive the indwelling love of God the Son, in order that all the fullness of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, might fill us so that we become fully like God.

These prayer requests are that God would make us more like Him, in order that we might have more of Him, in order that we might be like Him. This is amazing. It’s a big cycle. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are transforming us into the fullness of the triune God so that He can dwell in us, and through us, and with us forever. The Father, the Son, the Spirit are cultivating their abiding life in us. The Father, Son, and Spirit are cultivating their abiding life in us.

Friends, you were made for God. Do you know that? You were made to come alive in relationship with God, and God in Jesus Christ wants to give you Himself. And in order to do that, He must first make you like Himself so that He can give you the fullness of Himself because only glory can behold glory. Only glory can hold glory. Only glory can house glory.

That’s why the Son redeemed you by His blood. That’s why the Spirit is transforming you on the inside. That’s why the Father is lavishing the Holy Spirit upon you to give you more of Jesus Christ so that you might be filled with all of the fullness of God.

God gives us Himself, to make us like Himself, so He can give us even more of Himself, so that we will become just like Himself. Do you see that? In Him, we’re becoming ourselves, the people we were always meant to be, like our Father, by the power of the Spirit, growing in the love of the Son. We’re becoming our own true selves. We’re becoming children of God. Isn’t that amazing? That’s what this prayer request is all about.

Now, I have kids, and I tell my kids—We’re at home and I’m teaching them table manners. Okay? How many of you have fought this battle? Right? It’s relentless. Okay, I’m teaching them table manners. Why? I tell them I’m trying to teach you table manners so I can take you to the finest restaurants in Chicago, and so you can be with me wherever I go and enjoy all the things that I enjoy. I am training you up to maturity so I can share my whole life with you forever.

That’s exactly what’s going on here. Your heavenly Father wants to share Himself and all of His joy with you forevermore, and you’ve got a lot of growing up to do between now and then. But that’s good news. This is why God messes with you so much. It’s because He loves you, and He wants to give you all of Himself forevermore. You have a lot of changing to do before you’re ready. But the Holy Spirit is on the job. Amen? Such grace. Such grace.

So, the basis of prayer, the grace of prayer, and then quickly (because we’re running out of time) the confidence of prayer. The confidence of prayer. Friends, this prayer is so massive, it’s so far-reaching, it’s so glorious. How do we know we’re not wasting our breath? Huh? How do we know we’re not wasting our breath?

If we’re honest—If I’m honest, I get so discouraged by my slow progress in walking with Jesus. I get so distressed by the persistence and intractability of my besetting sins, my wandering affections, my repeated failings, my half-hearted obedience. Sometimes I doubt if I’ll ever make it. You know? Have you ever felt that way?

How can we have confidence in praying this prayer? Verse 20: “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.”

He, friends, is able. He is more than able.

Our God is able to do far more abundantly than anything we ask or imagine. (applause) It is His power that is at work in us. Who is that power, the power at work in us? He told us earlier. It’s the Spirit. The Spirit is the one who is strengthening us with power. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is alive and at work and present in us so that God the Father is now able to do everything. The Spirit is in us, and He is bringing glory every minute of every day to the church and to Christ Jesus. That’s where the glory is being revealed, the glory through the church in Jesus Christ throughout all generations forever and ever, all of this belongs to the glory of our triune God, because we are a masterpiece of His grace.

Philippians 1:6: “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion at the day of Christ Jesus.” Will do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24: “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will [surely] do it.”

Jude 24-25: “Now unto him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before himself, blameless in his presence with glory and great joy, to the only God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

Wow. (applause)

So where does our confidence lie in praying this prayer? It lies with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Our triune God is our hope, now and forever. Our triune God is our hope, now and forever. The Father’s grace, the Spirit’s power, the Son’s love. Our God is doing it all to the praise of His glory. And that glory is in the church, and in Christ Jesus. And do you realize those two are quickly becoming one and the same thing?

As Christ dwells in us, and as we are transformed into the image of Christ, the glory of the church and the glory of Christ Jesus become the same. This is the marriage, the bride of Christ, united with Him in glory forever, one flesh in Him.

So, the Father of glory gives us the Spirit of glory to make us sons and daughters of glory in order that Christ’s glory might fully dwell within us. It’s from glory, to glory, through glory, for glory. (chuckles) Friends, you were born for this. You were redeemed for this. You are being transformed for this, and you are destined for this glory. Our triune God is bringing many sons and daughters to glory. It’s what this abundant life is all about. So, pray like your life depends on it because it does.

Pray like your life depends upon it because it does. Prayer is our lifeline to God and the abundant life we have in Him. Our Father loves to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. And the Spirit loves to make us strong so that we might have more of Christ. Ans Christ loves to give us all the fullness of God to fill us up that we might be glorious like Him in order that He might take us wherever He goes that we might be with Him and enjoy all of this cosmic joy that God forever enjoys.

Jesus prays, “I pray that they might be with me that they might see me in my glory.” This is your destiny.

So, pray like your life depends upon it because it does. Only the Father, Son, and Spirit can take us, this multi-ethnic family, and cultivate in us the abiding life of the triune God so that we become glorious children of God. Our triune God is our only hope, now and forever.

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Amen.

Let’s pray.

Oh Father, this is a glorious thing you are doing, taking us, sinners saved by grace, and preparing us for the glories of eternal life in you. Father, that you would love us enough to redeem us and destine us for this kind of glory, this is amazing. It’s beyond our wildest expectations, our highest thoughts, our most stretching dreams. Father, that this would be real and true is amazing, and we marvel. So, Father, would you have your way in us? May your Spirit have full reign over our lives. May the love of Christ dwell in us richly so that all the fullness of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, might dwell within us, we in you, and you in us. Father, help us to follow you into this glory. We thank you for grace in Christ’s name, Amen.