A Pattern For Prayer Series

A Pattern for Prayer

Ephesians 1:15-23

Rev. Brian Bill

January 13-14, 2024

How many of you grew up saying memorized prayers?

• Here’s the prayer my sisters and I said at dinner time, usually at a very high rate of speed when we were hungry: “Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ our Lord, Amen.”

• Or maybe you prayed this one: “Rub a dub, dub, thanks for the grub.”

• Beth’s family prayed a meaningful prayer which we used with our daughters: “God you’re great, and God you’re good. And we thank you for this food. By your hand must all be fed. Give us Lord, our daily bread. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

• Perhaps you prayed this bedtime prayer: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep; and if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.”

• Here’s a morning prayer many of us can relate to: “Dear Lord, so far, I’ve done all right. I haven’t gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or overindulgent. But in a few minutes, I’m going to get out of bed. And from then on, I’m going to need a lot more help.”

Speaking of prayer, let’s pray the prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray.

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done;

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from the evil one.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory,

for ever and ever. Amen.

George Barna reports 69% of Christians pray at least weekly, but according to a survey from Crossway, only 2% say they are extremely satisfied with their overall prayer lives. Another study released last month found two reasons people give for not praying more.

• Too busy.

• Unsure what to pray.

As we continue in our study of the Book of Ephesians, our topic today is, “A Pattern for Prayer” from Ephesians 1:15-23. Here Paul shows us how to pray by demonstrating how he prays. Let’s stand and read this prayer together.

15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

We could summarize our passage like this: God wants us to pray so we’ll grow to know Him better.

Similar to the opening of chapter one, this prayer is one long complex sentence in Greek filled with clauses, phrases, and adjectives seemingly piled on top of each other. Last week we learned how God the Father planned our adoption, God the Son paid for it, and God the Holy Spirit protects it. Paul now prays that believers will grow to know God better.

He celebrates our position in Christ by putting the truth out in verses 3-14 and in verses 15-23, he prays the truth in. God has already blessed us, now we need to appropriate these blessings through prayer. We see that in verse 15: “For this reason…” Paul is so filled with affection for these believers that he praises them for two things: “…because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.”

• He celebrates their profession. The word “faith” means, “conviction and persuasion.”

• He celebrates their practice. Not only were they in a good place vertically with God, but they were also growing horizontally in their relationships with others. Notice how they practiced “love for all the saints.” Can you say you love “all” believers? Can I?