Praying for God’s Family
Ephesians 1:15-23
Intro: We continue our study in Ephesians today. In the first 14 verses we talked about what it meant to be “in Christ.” There is no better place to be than in Christ. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away; all things have become new. Paul is writing to people who have experienced this firsthand. One of the first things he does is thank God for them. I hope you make it part of your prayer habit to thank God for other believers around you. I am very thankful for my church family. Paul loved his church family and went on to tell them how he was praying for them.
-Today I want to look at what to pray for people in God’s family. God already has a plan that He is working in each of us, but these 4 elements can result in a stronger, healthier, more united church – if we will take the time to pray for one another.
-As we start let’s take a look at vv.15-16 as introductory verses.
15 For this reason [Since Paul knows they are in Christ], ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
I. Pray for People to Know God Better
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
-Paul actually showed knowing God as the end result of something else – receiving spiritual wisdom and revelation. He prayed for one that the other might result. Spiritual wisdom and revelation would be meaningless, if they did not help us know God better.
-Please understand that Paul wasn’t praying that the readers would be smarter. He was praying that they would receive a supernatural understanding of who God is. And God wants to give us that understanding. He loves to reveal who He is to those who long to know Him. The point is not just to know more stuff! The point is to know God Himself, being in relationship with Him.
-The word for “know” (so that you may know God better) carries the idea of fullness of knowledge that comes from personal acquaintance. Paul was writing to people who were in Christ. He had heard good things about them, their faith in Jesus and their love for all who were followers of Christ. The readers of this letter were personally acquainted with God. They had firsthand experience in communicating with God and getting to know Him.
-Maybe you’ve come today because there is something within you that cries out for more. You know you need something to help you cope with life and find some peace. I am so glad you are here today! And I hope that before this day ends that you will see your way clear to make personal acquaintance with God.
-Let me show you a short video clip that may help you visualize what God wants to do in you and for you today. [Show Break Down the Wall]
-You may not have a working relationship with Him yet, but you know He is calling you and you are getting ready to go all in for Him. I am praying that you will not hold back due to fear or doubt. Come close to God and He will come close to you.
-And if you do have a working relationship with the Lord, then let Paul’s prayer be answered in your life that you would receive more wisdom and revelation from God’s Holy Spirit so that you can know Him better.
-So when you are praying for other believers, this is a good place to start. Thank God for them, but pray that they will receive spiritual wisdom and revelation from God so they will know Him better.
II. Pray for People to Know His Hope
18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you,
-What hope has God called us to? We hope for many things based on God’s promises. Without hope we have no faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Before we come to Christ God works in us through His word and through His Holy Spirit, giving us hope that when we call on Him in repentance we will be forgiven and made right with God.
-When a man proposes marriage to a woman, he does so with the hope that she will say YES. If he has no hope of that, then he will probably never ask. What is amazing is that when we come to Jesus, we are coming in response to His proposal to us. We are not proposing to Him. We are accepting His proposal.
-The language of hope in the NT centers around the promise of Jesus that He would return for those who loved Him and had received His love. In fact Paul calls this our Blessed Hope, the glorious return of our Lord Jesus.
-So Paul prays that the lights will come on in their hearts, that they will realize and understand, that it will dawn on them all that God has done for them, namely the hope He has called them to. God calls us to Himself, he calls us to reach out and help others find the hope He offers, and He will be calling us home to be with Him one of these days. Are you ready?
III. Pray for People to Know His Riches
the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
-What are God’s riches? What is the wealth of God? At first we might look at the riches of the earth that God has made- gold, silver, precious stones and metals. But what are the riches of God’s inheritance in the saints? What inheritance can we expect as fully adopted children of God with full rights and privileges? Well, much like hope, we could enumerate God’s riches as His grace and forgiveness to us; the transformation He works in us when we believe and each day following; the family of God; the benefits of God- healing, gifts, resources, opportunity, open fellowship with Him, etc. Ultimately, again we look towards eternity to find the ultimate fulfillment of our inheritance. Our full inheritance comes when we are united with our heavenly Father and with His Son Jesus, our joint-heir.
-God may bless you with material riches in this life. If so I hope you will use them for Him to bring other people closer to the heart of their Creator. The best investment you can make with your temporary riches in to invest in lasting riches. Love is all you take with you from this life. If you love God you will be a wealthy person forever. If you miss God you will be poverty stricken forever – no spiritual riches, no love, no hope, no power to help yourself or anyone else. That leads us to this final part of Paul’s prayer. Paul prays that His Christian friends will come to know God’s power.
IV. Pray for People to Know His Power
19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
-V.19 shows that this mighty power of God is not up for grabs, but is specifically for those who believe. What is this power like? Well, Paul says it is just like the resurrection power that raised Jesus up from the dead.
-God works the same kind of power in your life that He worked in Jesus when He raised Him from the dead. If that is the case, and it is, tell me what could possibly come your way that you cannot handle? If you are handling things just in your own strength you have every reason to fear and to doubt. But if your trust is in God and His power over life and death, then you will know His peace in your mind and in your heart.
-God’s resurrection power not only conquered death but it effectively showed Jesus to be the greatest, most powerful ruler of all.
-All things have been placed under His feet. Jesus is the head over everything for the church. There is nothing in this world (or out of it) that is above Jesus! He’s got things handled!
-So, Jesus is all-powerful and is the head over everything for the church, which is His body. His power works through His body, the church. His body has arms to embrace people who are lonely and hurting. His body has hands to serve and minister to needs. His body has a mouth to speak the truth about life in love – to share the good news about Jesus. His body has eyes to see what is right and wrong and what direction to take; shoulders to bear the weight of leadership and for people to cry on. His body has feet that carry Him to those who are crying out for help. His body has a heart that beats with compassion and love for the people He created and wants to be close to.
-God’s power is working through His body, the church. The question to us is this: Is God’s power working through me? If the same kind of power that raised Jesus bodily from death is working in me, shouldn’t that make a difference in the way I live and in what I have to offer those around me? In myself I have very little to offer, but in Christ I have what it takes!
-Jesus expresses Himself to this world through His body, the church. Jesus fills the church (people of God) with Himself and with His power. He fills us with gifts that strengthen and build us up. We will talk about some of these in chapter 4.
-Jesus is the One who fills this universe with His presence and His power. But He also fills His church with Himself so that it is the fullness of Him, expressed to the world.
-Church, we need to know God’s power and put it into action in our lives. God is calling us to be and do so much more than we can be and do by ourselves. With His power at work in us, we can make a difference in our community! We can make a difference in our own homes. We can make a difference in our schools! We can make a difference on our jobs. We can make a difference everywhere we go if we allow His power to work through us.
Conclusion: How about it? Is God’s life being expressed through your life as a believer? My prayer for you is that you will come to know God better than you’ve ever known Him before. I pray that you will know His hope. I pray that you will know His riches, the spiritual inheritance that is yours now and will be completely fulfilled later. I pray that you will know His power, the kind that turns death into life! I pray this His life will be very evident in each of us and in all of us together as we function as His body.
