Opening illustration: A friend told me about a neighbor who years ago spent most of his spare time planting trees. The man seldom watered the young trees because he thought that too much watering spoiled them. (He came from the “no pain, no gain” school of plant care.) Pampered trees, he said, made for shallow roots, and deep roots were something to be treasured.
My friend told me that he often walks by the old place and looks at the trees his neighbor planted 25 years earlier. They’re rugged, strong, and durable now. Tall and tough. Adversity and deprivation seem to have benefited them in ways that being sheltered and pampered couldn’t.
All of this makes me think about the way I pray for others. I’m inclined to pray that God will spare my family and friends from hardship, but lately I’ve changed my praying. I don’t ask for an easy life for them, for that may not come in this world. Instead, I try to echo the prayer of the apostle Paul for the believers in Ephesus (3:14-19). I ask that their roots will go down deep into the love of God—experiencing a close relationship with Him—so they’ll grow up sturdy and strong. Then when the winds of adversity blow, they won’t be swept away but will stand tall as a testimony of faith. (David H. Roper, ODB)
Introduction: I'm especially encouraged when a wise, mature, Spirit-filled saint, who really knows how to pray, comes up to me and says, “Ajai; I want you to know that I'm praying for you.” To know that I'm being prayed for by someone like that makes me very eager to see their prayer answered! And I'm even more encouraged when I find out the specific details of what they are asking God for concerning me.
And what's more, I find such prayers to be motivating. When I learn that a saintly Christian is praying that I become a specific kind of man, or that I begin to take on certain specific characteristics of Christian maturity, or that I begin to do some specific thing that he or she believes God is calling me to do, I am inspired to grow, or behave more like, or to do that thing that they are praying for.
This morning, I'm going to ask that we look at just such a prayer from just such a Christian. Apostle Paul may have been one of the greatest Christian’s who ever lived. He demonstrated a life-commitment to the Savior that was total. He had been given an understanding of the truths of the Christian faith that was deeper and more profound than could be found among any other redeemed human being. He had been given a practical and experiential grasp of our riches in Christ that was beyond parallel. He was a man who was utterly consumed and driven by the love of Christ. And that's what makes his prayer for the church such an important one to consider.
How to intercede for the body of Christ?
1. Strengthen the Inner Man (vs. 14-16)
Paul's posture is significant: he bows his knees, whereas standing (Mark 11:25; Luke 18:11) was normal among the Jews. Kneeling is an indication of an attitude of worship, reverence, adoration, and praise. This posture is mentioned in Scripture numerous times: Solomon knelt before the altar of the Lord to pray (1 Kings 8:54 and 2 Chronicles 6:13). Ezra fell upon his knees to pray (Ezra 9:5). Daniel prayed upon his knees three times daily (Daniel 6:10). Jesus knelt down to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:41). Stephen knelt as he forgave his enemies (Acts 7:60). Peter kneeled down to pray before raising Dorcas from the dead (Acts 9:39-42). At his farewell speech to the elders of Ephesus, Paul and those he was addressing knelt down and prayed together (Acts 20:36). Paul did this again with other disciples (Acts 21:5).
The phrase in v. 15 Paul was speaking of the saved, both Old and New Testament, those alive and those already in heaven. This is the only time in Scripture where the term "family" is used to describe the saints, although that idea is implied many times by the use of the word "brother" or "sister" when referring to a fellow believer.
One of the glorious truths that the Bible teaches us is that, when someone becomes a believer in Jesus Christ and is saved by Him, the Father sends the Holy Spirit - the third divine Person of the triune Godhead—to dwell in them. As Paul says, we are “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession …” (Ephesians 1:13-14). He not only dwells “with” us, but also “in” us (John 14:17). And here, Paul prays that the resident Holy Spirit would do His work in the inner person of that believer - that he or she would be strengthened through the Holy Spirit with respect to his or her will, conscience, and mind - the “inner man”; from which so much of a person's life flows.
And notice the details. Paul doesn't just pray that they will be strengthened; but prays for it emphatically - that they will be, literally “with might strengthened”. He prays that they will be made sufficiently, marvelously powerful in their inner life for whatever the circumstances may demand of them. And he prays that this will happen in such a way that every need with respect to the inner man in those circumstances will be met in unlimited abundance; because He prays that the Father would grant this strength “according to the riches of His glory …”
What is your inner need in your circumstances of life? How great is that inner need? The Holy Spirit can strengthen your inner man for those circumstances, no matter how great the need may be. Do you need love for someone that you can't, in your own power, love? Do you need a joy that lifts you out of the sorrow of your circumstances? Do you need peace that calms your heart in the midst of the storms of life? Do you need patience and kindness and goodness toward others? Do you need faithfulness when your heart longs to wander, meekness when your heart is proud, self-control when you are tempted to sin? God has placed His Holy Spirit in you to empower you to live a Christ-like life from the inner man.
Illustration: A large company extracts contaminating substances from steel drums by suction. Powerful pumps draw the materials out of the barrels, but the workers must carefully regulate the force of these pumps. If they take out too much air, the drums will collapse like paper cups because the outer pressure will exceed the inner pressure.
Likewise, when adversity and hardship come into our lives, unless God empowers us from within we will be unable to withstand the pressures from without. True, we get solid support from loved ones and Christian friends, but it is our spiritual inner man, "strengthened with might through His Spirit," that sustains us and keeps us from crumbling.
The Spirit works to strengthen us and renew our minds as we read God's Word and pray. If we neglect the Scriptures, seldom talk with the Lord, and stop fellowshipping with Him, we will grow weak and vulnerable. Then we will be unable to withstand the pressure of temptation or trouble. Let's ask the Lord to develop our inner strength so that when life's blows and burdens press upon us we will not cave in. (David C. Egner, ODB)
2. Rooted and Grounded in Love (v. 17)
Paul's prayer assumes that we are “rooted and grounded in love”. This is a mix of metaphors; “rooted” being a word that speaks of agriculture, and “grounded” being a word that speaks of architecture. But together, they convey the idea of being fixed and established in love in such a way that we sink our roots down deep and draw up nourishment from it. And there is no soil foundation which is so gripping, so binding, as divine love. This rooting and grounding in love is with a view to an all-embracing comprehension of the love of GOD. But observe that it reads "with all saints." It seems to be a corporate comprehension of which he speaks. All that the Apostle is asking for may indeed be beyond the grasp of one individual believer, but each one may grasp some portion; and each believer contributes by his own apprehension to the sum total of the comprehension of "all saints."
When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, it's as if we invite Him to come and make our hearts His home. But in a very real sense, He is not yet “at home” there until He takes full possession of every area. He takes us on a tour of our hearts, as it were, takes a look at a room that is behind a locked door, and says, “Child, I would like to go into this room. Would you please hand Me the key?” We might be very unwilling to do so. We might be afraid to let Him in that room because of what we keep in it. “No, Lord. I keep that room locked for a reason. There are things in there that it would not be appropriate for You to see. I have some favorite sins and habits I keep in there. I'd rather You not go in there.” For Jesus to dwell in our hearts by faith would require that we give Him the key to that room. It would be as if He says, “Child, your heart is now My home; and I must make Myself at home everywhere—even in this locked room. Give Me the key; and let's clean out this room of the things that don't belong in your life, so that I can truly be at home in every area of your heart.”
3. Comprehend the Dimensions of God’s Love (v. 18)
The dimensions of the Love of Christ! It is broad as humanity, "for God so loved the world"; the length God's love had no date of origin, and shall have none of conclusion. God is Love, it continues ever, indissoluble, unchangeable, a perpetual present tense. Its height--as the Flood out-topped the highest mountains, so that Love covers our highest sins. It is as high as the heaven above the earth. Its depth--Christ our Lord descended into the lowest before He rose to the highest. He has touched the bottomless pit of our sin and misery, sorrow and need. However low your fall, or lowly your lot, the everlasting arms of His love are always underneath.
The Apostle talks by hyperbole, when he prays that we may attain the knowledge of the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ. We cannot gauge Christ's love, but we can enjoy it. Probably the only way to know the love of Christ is to begin to show it. The emotionalist, who is easily affected by appeals to the senses, does not know it; the theorist or rhapsodist does not know it, but the soul that endeavors to show the love of Christ, knows it. As Christ's love through you broadens, lengthens, deepens, heightens, you will know the love of Christ, not intellectually, but experimentally.
But you say, "there are people in my life whom I cannot love." Granted, but you must distinguish between love and the emotion or feeling of love. You may not be able to feel love at the outset, but you can be willing to be the channel of Christ's love. I cannot love, but Christ is in me, and He can. Is it too much to ask that all this should be realized in ourselves and in others? No, because God is already at work within us by His Holy Spirit, and He is able to do infinitely beyond all our highest requests or thoughts. Ask your furthest, think your highest, and the Divine Love is always infinitely in advance.
Illustration: Several hundred miles off the coast of Guam is the Mariana Trench, the deepest place in the ocean. On January 23, 1960, Jacques Piccard and Donald Walsh climbed into a submersible vessel and were lowered into the cold, lonely darkness. Their descent into the deep, which set the world record, has never been repeated.
The depth of the ocean is mind-boggling. The Mariana Trench is nearly 7 miles down. The water pressure at the bottom of the trench is 15,931 pounds per square inch. Yet there is life. Walsh saw flat fish on the ocean floor, surviving despite the pressure and the darkness.
For most of us, it's hard to fathom just how deep the Mariana Trench is. But much more difficult to comprehend is the love of God. Paul was hard-pressed to describe it, but he prayed that his readers would be able somehow to grasp "the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge" (Ephesians 3:18).
The reason we can never reach the depths of God's love is that it is infinite—beyond measure. If you ever feel alone and unloved, that you've sunk to the depths of dark despair, think about Ephesians 3:18. God's love for you is deeper than the Mariana Trench! (Dennis Fisher, ODB)
4. Filled with the Fullness of God (v. 19)
Paul says that he prays we would be strengthened by the Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ would dwell in our hearts by faith, so that we would grow to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; and all this, as he says, “that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Paul doesn't pray that we might be filled full with God. Rather, he prays something remarkable; that we would be filled with all the fullness of God! But how can we—little creatures that we are—be filled with all the fullness of Someone that the universe itself could not contain? It can only happen as Jesus Christ makes Himself completely at home in our hearts and causes us to comprehend the fullness of His love for us.
In his letter to the Colossian believers, Paul speaks of Jesus Christ and says, “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell” (Colossians 1:19). Later, he writes, “For in Him [that is, in Christ] dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power” (Colossians 2:9-10). To the degree that Jesus occupies every portion of your and my life, to that degree we are filled with all the fullness of God; because all the fullness is found in Him. As Paul elsewhere writes, “Christ is all and in all” (3:11).
Illustration: Professor John Nash of Princeton University is a math genius who has spent his life in the abstract world of numbers, equations—and delusions. Nash suffers from schizophrenia, a mental illness that can result in bizarre behavior and broken relationships. With medical help and the love of his wife, he learned to live with his illness and later won the Nobel Prize.
In the movie version of his life, Nash said: "I've always believed in numbers and the equations and logics that lead to reason … My quest has taken me through the physical, the metaphysical, the delusional, and back. And I've made the most important discovery of my life. It's only in the mysterious equations of love that any logical reasons can be framed."
In Colossians 1, we read of "the mysterious equation of love" at its deepest level—God's love for us in Christ. Jesus is the image of the invisible God, and out of love He has created us and sustains us (Col 1:16,17). He has also provided deliverance from the powers of darkness (Col 1:13) and the forgiveness of our sins (Col 1:14). No wonder Paul said that such love "passes knowledge" (Ephesians 3:19). It takes us beyond logic into the very heart of who God is (1 John 4:16). We are to live and show that love—always. (Dennis J. De Haan, ODB)
Application: The present church in our nation needs prayer desperately.
• Pray that the Holy Spirit strengthens our inner man.
• Pray that we are rooted and grounded in God’s love.
• Pray that we are able to understand the Dimensions of God’s Love.
• Pray that we are filled with the fullness of God.
• Pray not for a life free from trouble, but for triumph over trouble.
