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The prayer for power… (5 things)
- The second prayer of Paul…
- This is the 2nd of two recorded by Paul in Ephesians…
- Paul prayed in the first prayer for understanding – Ephesians 1:15-23
- This second prayer is for the saints to have power – power to use their understanding…
- It is one thing to know about what God has given us – it another to actually use it!
- I could hand you a set of keys and tell you they were for a brand new motor…
- But until you went and actually put the keys in the bike – you would go nowhere!
- God has given us the power to live our lives for Jesus – live a Holy life!
- The key that God has given us access this power is prayer…
- Through prayer we can receive the power of the Holy Spirit – power to live for God!
- Power to tell others about the hope of Jesus Christ – the Gospel message…
- Power to avoid the sin that we seem to so easily fall into!
- This is the 2nd of two recorded by Paul in Ephesians…
- 1st – The purpose of the prayer… vs. 14
- Paul said – ‘this is why I bow my knees to the Father’…
- In light of the teaching that there is only one way / one bridge to get into heaven…
- In light of the amazing revealed mystery of the plan of God for the gentiles…
- Paul came to the Lord in prayer for the saints he was teaching!
- His prayer was for the Gentiles to receive the power of God to live for Christ!
- The prayer of Paul was specific…
- This was not a ‘general’ prayer – this was a very specific prayer…
- Not that there is anything wrong with general prayers…
- We can pray for the peace of our nation / prayer for our leaders in government…
- But it is also good to be specific in our prayers – to give God details…
- Not that God does not already know- God sees the end from the beginning…
- But it allows God to direct us on specific issues – allows God to change us…
- Prayer is not about changing God’s mind – getting Him to agree to our plans…
- Prayer is about God changing our mind – getting us to line up with His plans – His will!
- Luke 22:42 – “Nevertheless not my will, but Your will, be done.”
- Paul said – ‘this is why I bow my knees to the Father’…
- 2nd – The possition of Paul’s prayer… vs. 14
- Paul prayed on his knees to show humility before the Lord…
- We should always come to the Lord in a posture of humility…
- If you walked into Malacañan Palace – you would not act as if you owned the place…
- You would show humility – and respect knowing you were in a great place!
- In the same way when we come before God in His throne room – Hebrews 4:16
- We need to come in humility – our prayers need to have reverence and respect!
- Not that there is a special or required position when it comes to pray…
- We see example in the Bible of praying while standing / sitting / lying on their face…
- God does not listen to a prayer made on your knees any more than praying standing…
- But practically speaking I find it best not to pray lying down – tend to fall asleep…
- Better to walk and pray – or on our knees – it helps keep us attentive!
- It is not about the position of our body – it is about the position of the heart…
- I Samuel 16:7 – “People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
- You cannot have a bad prayer – if you have the right heart…
- If you wonder if you are praying the ‘right way’ – you are asking the wrong question…
- Ask yourself why you are praying – if your motive is right – your prayer is right on!
- Paul prayed on his knees to show humility before the Lord…
- James 4:3 – “When you ask, you do not get it because your whole motive is wrong – you want only what will give you pleasure.”
- We ask God to win the Lotto – because we want to be rich and have lots of stuff…
- We justify ourselves motives – we would give a portion back to God…
- In truth our motive is selfish – our heart is not right – so our prayer is not asnwered…
- But when we ask for those things that God has given us a desire for – Psalm 37:4
- Asking God to save a lost friend / family member – that is a prayer God WILL answer!
That we will find we are walking in the power of God – giving glory to God!
3rd – The person Paul prayed to… vs. 15
Paul prayed to the Father…
Prayer is directed toward God in heaven – ‘Our Father’ – Luke 11:2
Often when we face problems in life – our first response is to fret and worry…
It is only as a last resort – when all else fails – we go to the Lord in prayer…
Philippians 4:6 – “Do not worry about anything; instead, pray about everything…”
When we pray to the Father – we find whatever burden brought us to prayer is gone…
Our perspective changes – we see our circumstances in a new light…
We no longer see our problems – instead our God who is greater than any problem!
Our problems swallowed up in the praise of our incredible Lord!
But we also see prayer directed to Jesus…
Peter when he was walking on the water – took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink…
Matthew 4:30 – “He was terrified and he shouted, ‘Save me, Lord!’”
The shortest prayer in the Bible – crying out to Jesus in a time of need…
Often those are the prayers we throw up to Jesus – save us now Lord…
But we also see prayer directed to the Holy Spirit…
We pray for the Holy Spirit to come and fill us / empower us to serve the Lord…
So we can pray to the Father / to the Son / or to the Spirit – because they are one!
4th – What Paul prayed for… vs. 16-19 (5 things)
1st – Paul prayed for strength…
We know we are going to face trial and troubles in life – and we get tired…
So we need the power of God to get us through those difficult times…
The strength comes from the Holy Spirit – who gives us the power of God…
Not physical power – ‘more muscles’ – but spiritual power!
How do we work out our Spiritual muscles – through trials…
The way exercise muscles to build strength – we also build spiritual strength
None of us like trials – we certainly would not pray for God to ‘test’ our faith…
Though trials certainly have a purpose – they strengthen our faith…
Like a tree that has grown on the weathered windward side of the hill…
Trials make us unmovable / unshakable / grounded and rooted in Christ…
2nd – Jesus might dwell in our hearts through faith…
The word dwell – carries the though of being at home / comfortable…
The prayer of Paul is that Jesus would be at home / comfortable in our hearts!
What do we hang on the walls of our heart – what does God see when He comes in…
Do we have His Word written on our hearts – Psalms 119:11
Or are there images – thoughts – that we would be ashamed to admit were ours…
We need to tear out those things in our heart that would make us ashamed…
Instead by faith making our heart a home where Jesus is comfortable and welcome!
Not that we need to clean up before Jesus comes into our heart…
It is by inviting Jesus into our heart – that we become clean!
By faith we invite Him into our heart so that He can clean out all the garbage!
3rd – Be rooted and grounded in Love…
Paul wanted the church to fully understand the Love of God for the saints…
When we really understand the Love God has for us – we will be unmovable…
If you plant a tree in poor soil – it does not stand much of chance of maturing…
In the same way if we do not have the right ‘soil’ for our faith – we will not mature…
If we think that our salvation is ‘rooted’ in our good works – efforts – bad soil…
If we think somehow that we can be ‘rooted’ in a religion – bad soil…
It is only as we firmly plant ourselves in the Love of Jesus – we blossom and grow!
Colossians 2:7 – “Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught.”
4th – To understand the Love of Jesus…
To comprehend – the width / length / depth / and height of the Love of God…
If you want to know how big a building is – you go out and measure it – L/W/H…
Paul is saying we should measure the Love of God – learn how massive it is…
As we grow in our walk with the Lord – we begin to realize His love for us…
A love that took Jesus to the cross – so that we could be saved from our sins…
A love that made us the children of God – heirs to all that God has…
A love that is too great / too wonderful to fully be able to comprehend…
If I asked you to measure a house – no problem – it is not that big…
If I asked you to measure the Philippines – problem – it is VERY big…
The point being we can learn about the Love of God – experience His love…
But the Love of God is SO AMAZING – we will never fully understand all of it!
5th – Filled with the ALL the fullness of God…
The prayer of Paul was not just to be filled with the power of God…
Or even the filled with God – but his pray was we would be filled with ALL of God!
If I told you I wanted you to fill a pitcher with water from the ocean – not problem…
What if I told you to put all the water in the ocean – in that one pitcher – WOW!
How can our tiny little clay pots – every hope to hold all of the fullness of God!
It is not something that happens in a moment – the very day we are saved…
It is a process of growing in Jesus – learning to become more like Him…
God does not want to us to stay the same after we are saved…
He desires for us to grow – following the example of Jesus – be filled with ALL of Him!
5th – The power of prayer… vs. 20-21
The power of God…
God wants to accomplish INFINATELY MORE – than would could ever ask or imagine…
We might think that we have a pretty good imagination…
God if You only gave me 10 million pesos – what I could do for you…
Or God if you could just reach out to my family – I know they would be saved…
But God does not just want to give us a little – or reach a few…
God wants to give us His Kingdom – and reach out to millions – a lost world!
When we come to God in prayer – nothing is impossible…
We will experience blessing from God beyond anything we could have imagined…
A simple kid – from a poor family – in a small town – got to travel the world!
If you’d told me one day I would fly over ½ million miles traveling to 30 countries…
I would have laughed – I could not see it – it was impossible…
But God loves to do the impossible – things we never imagined we could ever do!
By the power of the Holy Spirit – to the glory of God…
Zechariah 4:6 – “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD.”
Often the reason why we fail – why we get frustrated in life – why we keep stumbling…
Is because we are looking to the wrong power – we are trusting in ourselves…
It is only when we are depending on the power of the Holy Spirit…
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