Praying with Paul: Humble Enough to Ask
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18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—
Tonight, we will continue [Praying with Paul]. Tonight, we will look at being, [Humble Enough to Ask].
This is the third passage in Ephesians where we find Paul praying. Paul dearly loved the church in Ephesus. He had a unique relationship with them, one where he did most of the work.
He introduced them to Jesus
He explained the baptism in the Holy Spirit to them
He helped assist them with issues
He introduced them to their pastor
He prayed for them
They were so special to him, while he was under house arrest in Rome, he took time to write them this letter. There was not a specific doctrinal issue he needed to address.
Instead, he wanted to teach them about the mystery of the Church.
Many of the Ephesians were not raised knowing God. They were pagan Gentiles. So Paul had to help them from the ground up, learning about God and how Jesus is the fulfillment of His redemptive plan.
To conclude his letter to them, he spoke of the nature of spiritual warfare. Paul realized the spiritual assaults that Satan brings against the body of Christ.
Spoke to them of the importance of standing strong in the Lord.
He taught on the nature of spiritual warfare. There are real spiritual battles that take place. We should NEVER attack people, but realize the source of problems is Satan.
Then he gave them a lesson on the armor of God:
Belt of truth
Breastplate of righteousness
Shoes of the gospel of peace
Shield of faith that quenches the darts of the enemy
Helmet of salvation
Sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word
To conclude his thoughts, he returns to the nature of prayer.
He wanted them to pray PASSIONATELY in the Holy Spirit. He speaks of prayer and supplication:
Prayer is a conversation with God
supplication is an urgent request to meet a need, speaking directly to God
There are real spiritual battles taking place. We need to equip ourselves with the armor of God and praying in the Spirit.
The Ephesians would have felt encouraged and equipped by this portion of Paul’s letter. Then he turned his attention to a new prayer request.
Let’s look at Ephesians 3:19 of this verse: Humble enough to [Ask for Prayer], [Ask for Power], and [Ask to Partake].
Let’s begin
1. Humble Enough to Ask for Prayer
1. Humble Enough to Ask for Prayer
19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,
Verse eighteen and nineteen connect. Paul tells them to pray in the Spirit. To stay alert and persistent. Then he makes a request. Notice it in the New Living Translation:
19 And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.
And pray for me.
I wonder how the Ephesians felt when they read this. For so long they had leaned on Paul for prayer. They depended on his strength.
Now, they listen to Paul make a request— pray for me.
What caused Paul do ask this?
He was humble. He was not so prideful that he could not lower himself to acknowledging he needed help and prayer.
He had spent time sharing with them that they faced spiritual battles. They needed to stand strong. They needed the armor of God. They needed to pray in the Spirit.
But Paul identifies, I too need prayer that God will help me:
stand strong
walk in the armor of God
stay full of the Spirit
Paul, the great apostle of faith, needed God’s help.
One of the tactics of the enemy is for us to believe that prayer works. But, he will try to keep us from asking for prayer. We might think, well I do not want to bother anyone. I have asked before and I do not want to repeat the request.
Many needs have gone unanswered because no one asked for prayer.
Paul shows us we can and should ask. We have to humble ourselves and willingly share our need with others.
2. Humble Enough to Ask for Power
2. Humble Enough to Ask for Power
19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,
What was Paul’s prayer request?
That God would help him open His mouth to speak boldly.
He wanted God to give him the right words every time he opened his mouth.
I find the timing of Paul’s request important to note. Paul did not write this before he embarked on a mission’s trip. He was not in the process of preparing a message to preach.
No, Paul was in Rome. He always wanted to go to capital of the Empire to declare the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
If we remember when we Prayed through Acts, Paul’s trip to Rome was long and he went in a way he did not expect. He was arrested on false charges in Jerusalem.
The Jewish leaders sought to kill him more than once. He was about to lose his life and he appealed for a trial before Caesar. He was taken there as a prisoner.
But instead of a cold, dark dungeon, he lived comfortably under house arrest. He was allowed to receive guests.
Instead of complaining about situation, he acknowledged he needed prayer. But his prayer was for God to give him power to speak boldly.
God will give us power to face whatever situation comes our way.
One of the issues in requesting prayer is the enemy will try to cause us to feel trapped. That we are in so deep we do not see a way out of our situation.
In those times, we should humble ourselves and ask for prayer that God will give us power.
Paul already told us: Ephesians 6:10
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
When we feel our strength begin to wane, we must ask for prayer.
Paul wanted prayer for power. But what did he want God’s power? He shows us in that...
3. Humble Enough to Ask to Partake
3. Humble Enough to Ask to Partake
19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Paul knew God was in the process of doing great things for the church. He was personally involved in spreading the Gospel to much of the then known world.
He also had a mandate from heaven:
21 Then He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.’ ”
When Jesus saved Paul, He promised that Paul would go to the Gentiles. This was a revolutionary idea, for originally, Christianity was an extension of Judaism.
The church was Jewish people who accepted Jesus as their Savior. But God wanted ANYONE and EVERYONE to accept Him.
Paul had partaken in the work of God. Now, he continued to pray that God will help him partake in making known the MYSTERY of the Gospel.
Why did he call the gospel a mystery?
25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began
26 but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith—
27 to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.
From the outside looking in, the gospel does not make sense.
What is the gospel?
It is God’s plan for the world. Jesus came to this world to die for our sins. He rose from the dead after three days. Now, anyone who accepts Him as their Savior will have hope for eternal life.
It is mysterious that God would want to save us
It is mysterious that Jesus would want to die for us
It is mysterious that God would accept us
But through Jesus, the mystery makes more sense. Jesus is the answer. Through Him every thing changes.
Even though Paul was under house arrest, he still wanted to do HIS part in making sense of the mystery to those who did not know the Lord.
God always has a plan for us. We need His help to fulfill our assignment.
Paul was unable to move freely, but he never lost his resolve to do his part.
Close:
It took a lot of humility for Paul to ask for prayer. But his desire for God’s power and his passion to partake in God’s mission made him want help.
Prayer is all about humility. We identify that we need God’s help and cannot make it on our own.
There are plenty of arrogant people who never ask for help. In their minds they have it all under control.
But God has another plan for His church:
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
When we humble ourselves to ask for prayer, God will help.
Think about it for a moment— it really does take humility to ask for prayer.
It is one thing to take our needs to God— he is perfect. But to take our requests to someone who is flawed like we are, we might wonder, what will they think?
But I feel that the Lord wants us to pray with one another.
Initially, I was going to speak from Philippians. But I checked one more time for the word pray in Ephesians. And here is where I landed.
And it hit me, Paul, who was a great apostle, used by God, still needed prayer.
I know for me, I need prayer. I humbly ask for you to pray for me. So let’s pray for each other.
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