A Prayer of Paul
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That He would grant you...
That He would grant you...
For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
For this reason
The greatness of the grace of God - we were dead in sin, now we are alive in Christ
Jew and Gentile have become one in Him
Gods amazing plan in Christ - all things under Him
We have peace in Him, have been brought near
no longer strangers, fellow citizens
He bows his knee - he prays. Jewish men stood to pray. Kneeling was done at times of emotion and distress
“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
1 Kings 8:54 Solomon kneels at the dedication of the temple
Psalm 95 - a Psalm A call to worship and obedience
Let us kneel before the Lord our God our Maker
Matthew 17:14 man kneels before Jesus asking for his son’s healing
Matthew 20:20 the mother of the sons of Zebedee kneeling and asking for her sons to sit on the right and left in the kingdom
Mark 1:40 leper kneeling before Jesus for healing
Luke 22:41 jesus knelt in the garden and prayed
that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
that He would grant you - give to you
according to His riches - fullness of goods, abundance
glory - splendor, magnificient and splendid appearance
Paul prays for spiritual blessing on a lavish scale - when we pray for others, how do we pray for them?
What does Paul ask of the Lord, what is his lavish prayer for these people?
that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man
strengthened - become strong
with might - power
through His Spirit in the inner man
Paul prays that our inner man would be strengthened with power through God’s Spirit. To walk with Him, to stand against sin
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith
He prays for us to know Christ, that our hearts would be the dwelling place of Christ. Daily fellowship. Constant companionship
dwell
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 85.69 κατοικέω
85.69 κατοικέω: to live or dwell in a place in an established or settled manner—‘to live, to dwell, to reside.
faith
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 31.85 πιστεύω; πίστις, εως
31.85 πιστεύωb; πίστιςb, εως f: to believe to the extent of complete trust and reliance—‘to believe in, to have confidence in, to have faith in, to trust, faith, trust.’
that you, being rooted and grounded in love
rooted
Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon 4492 ῥιζόω
to cause to strike root, to strengthen with roots, to render firm, to fix, establish, cause a person or a thing to be thoroughly grounded.
grounded
Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon 2311 θεμελιόω
1 to lay the foundation, to found. 2 to make stable, establish
in love - agape
may be able to comprehend, with all the saints
comprehend - to come to understand, to realize, to grasp
we don’t just know it, we grasp it and embrace it
what is the width and length and depth and height
look at How Paul describes the love of God. it is boundless, it goes beyond measurement. We don’t figure out the boundaries of it
The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 11: Ephesians through Philemon F. Knowledge and Fullness (3:14–21)
It is wide enough to reach the whole world and beyond (1:9, 10, 20). It is long enough to stretch from eternity to eternity (1:4–6, 18; 3:9). It is high enough to raise both Gentiles and Jews to heavenly places in Christ Jesus (1:13; 2:6). It is deep enough to rescue people from sin’s degradation and even from the grip of Satan himself
to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge
know
Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon 1097 γινώσκω
to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel
Paul prays for us to know the love of God. To know hoe He loves, how He has shown His love to us, to love Him and love others, yet, this love surpasses knowledge,
God’s love is greater than we can grasp. And yet, we experience God’s love in our lives every day
that you may be filled with all the fullness of God
To have the full indwelling of God. May be filled - we are growing.
We are getting closer to Him, being made more like Him
The New King James Version Chapter 3
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
God us able to do exceedingly abundantly, far beyond, far more abundantly
the power that works with in us - His power, not ours
What does the way Paul prays tell us about his heart?
How does he feel towards other believers?
How do we pray for people?
When you read this, is this a prayer you want God to answer in your life?
Is this what you want?
To comprehend and know the love of God.
May God answer Paul/s prayer in our life