Prayers To Fill The Christian

Intro

Illus: Running low on Fuel with my wife and the kids near the Poconos.

o My wife pointed out we needed fuel. In a somewhat remote part of Pennsylvania.

o I passed a gas station and she pointed out that we needed Gas. Not wanting to turn back, I said we will get some at the next opportunity.

o We got to a sign that pointed to a gas station. We drove a mile or two down the road to a CLOSED gas station. Now I wasted fuel and we were running pretty low.

o We finally got fuel when the computer said we had 13 miles left.

As Christians, we often run on an empty tank. Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3 identifies three things that we can pray for ourselves and others so that we do not run on an empty tank, but that we “may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (v. 19b)

READ Eph 3:14-21

Looking at prayers in Scripture can help us know how to pray

- Often we fall short of knowing what to pray

- Often we focus on physical aspects of life

- Look out for Spiritual welfare of others

- Paul’s prayers help us

- Rom 8:26 – Spirit’s Help

To help us know how to be filled, Paul shares three attitudes and three specific items He is praying for and we too should include these items in our prayers.

Before we consider the three truths in the way we approach God in prayer.

I. Approaching God in Prayer

Take a quick not of the start of verse 14, “for this reason”. Paul is taking this time to share this prayer in light of the doctrinal truth he has shared this far. Such things include:

• We are his workmanship

• We are no longer strangers

• Jews and Greeks are brought together in one body

Knowing who we are in Christ should drive us to Him in prayer. In doing so, we can…

1. Approach God in Humility (v. 14)

Bow my knee to the Father

We approach God boldly, but we must also approach in Humility and submission. Paul demonstrates this by dropping to his Knee.

2. Approach God as a Loving Father (v. 15)

“To the Father” of Lord Jesus and the one from whom the whole family is named.

In this introduction, Paul is not describing God as the universal father of all creation, but this is a reference to the special place we have as His Children. When Paul says “from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,” He is talking about believers. Interesting, the words for “all” (translated “whole”and “family” are singular. Paul is talking collectively about the entire body of believers as one. In chapter 2, Paul has spent a significant amount of time explaining that because of Christ, the Jews and Gentiles are being built together into one body. That is an amazing picture. He carries that idea in this prayer when he says “the whole family in heaven and earth is named.”

Where do we get our surnames? Typically from the Father. In his initial statement, Paul is acknowledging the God the Father of the Lord Jesus is also our heavenly father.

In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus taught us to begin “our Father who art in heaven” – When we come to the father, we can come in confidence like a child to a loving father.

ILLUS: I broke a window and came to my dad in fear, but also knowing that He loved me. He was gracious to me and together we worked to replace the single pane of glass in the old sliding glass door I had broken.

3. Approach God ACCORDING TO the riches of His Glory (v. 16)

John MacArthur points out that:

For a millionaire to give $50 or $100 would be simply to give out of his wealth, but to give $25K (or I might say $1M) would be to give according to his wealth. The greater a persons wealth, the greater his gift must be to qualify for giving ACCORDING to his wealth .

Do you catch the breath of Paul’s meaning? Think about how great God is and the riches of His Glory. They are without limit.

In Psalm 50:10-12, The Psalmist (Asaph) describes God as saying “For every beast of the forest is Mine. And the cattle on a thousand hills.

I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.

“If I were hungry, I would not tell you’ For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.”

II. Prayerful Desire for Believers (3 Specifics Set off by Greek Infinitives)

Now that we have looked at the attitudes with which Paul demonstrates our approach to God in prayer, Let’s consider three specific requests Paul makes to fill an Empty Christian – or at least a Christian with additional capacity in their tank, which should be all of us.