[Note: This is a four-part sermon series. The link to the next sermon in the series is at the end of this post]
I. Introduction
-- turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 3:14-21
Ephesians 3:14-21 (NIV)
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father,
15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
-- one of my all-time favorite movies is “Mr. Holland’s Opus” -- I don't know if any of you remember this -- it starred Richard Dreyfuss as a musician -- a composer -- who hasn't found any success in following his dream of composing the next great symphony -- so he ends up taking a job teaching music at a local high school just to pay the bills -- and that’s the way he views it -- just something to do -- just a job that he’s having to do to make money while still giving him time to follow his dream and compose music that will change the world
-- One of his students is a very serious girl who plays the clarinet terribly, even though she practices constantly -- and as Mr. Holland works with her to try to help, he learns that she is the youngest in a family where everyone excels – except her -- Because she has tried so hard and failed at playing the clarinet, she considers herself a failure in life
-- One day she comes into the classroom and tells Mr. Holland that she’s going to quit and says that if he knows anyone who wants her clarinet, he can give it to them -- as she walks away, Mr. Holland asks her, “Is it any fun?” -- With a shrug, she answers, “I wanted it to be.”
-- “You know what we’ve been doing wrong, Miss Lang? We’ve been playing the notes on the page.” -- Confused, the girl asks, “Well what else is there is to play?”
-- “There’s a lot more to music than notes on a page -- playing music is supposed to be fun -- it’s about heart -- it’s about feelings and moving people and something beautiful and being alive and it’s not about notes on a page -- I could teach you notes on a page -- I can’t teach you that other stuff.”
-- He has her sit down in front of him with her clarinet and takes the music sheets off the stand and tells her to play -- She tries a time or two, each time coming to a point where her clarinet squawks and squeaks, and she starts to kick herself for her failure -- -- “What do you like best about yourself?” he asks. -- With a shy smile she says, “My hair – my dad says it reminds him of a sunset.” -- “Well, then, play the sunset.”
-- And she closes her eyes, and she begins to play – really play, not just the notes, but the heart of the music -- She is so amazed when she does the hard part of the song perfectly that her eyes pop open and she stops -- Mr. Holland shares her amazement and says, “Don’t stop!”
-- And so, on she plays: eyes closed, head beginning to sway with the rhythm of it -- and this time, it's different -- this time, it’s fun.2
-- when I thought of this scene in the movie, I thought of prayer -- for many of us, prayer is just like music was to this girl in the beginning -- prayer is serious -- prayer is work -- prayer is duty -- prayer is something we HAVE to do because we are expected to do it as Christians -- but it seems more like a chore than anything else -- and we end up feeling like failures in our prayers more often than not -- that every time we pray, we’re doing it wrong
-- but this is not the way God intended prayer to be -- prayer should be like playing a sunset -- it should be like sharing our lives with a friend -- it should be like sharing our day -- the good and the bad -- our wants and desires -- our dreams and our hopes -- with a Father who loves us and wants us to succeed -- with a Father who just wants to listen and just wants to know our hearts
-- this morning we are beginning a four-part sermon series on the prayers of the Apostle Paul in the hopes this may encourage us in our prayer life and help us to recapture the heart of what God really intended when He told us to pray
-- the first of Paul's prayers that we're going to discuss is found here in Ephesians Chapter 3 -- so let's look together now at this prayer of Paul and see what we can learn from him
-- verse 14 [read vs. 14-15]
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father,
15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
-- Paul begins his prayer with the words, "for this reason" -- and to understand what he's talking about, you need to know the context of the Book of Ephesians up to this point -- Paul has been sharing with this church that he loved the truth of the gospel and the mystery of the church -- he has reminded them of how Christ died for them on His cross -- how they stand forgiven of their sins by grace through faith in the atoning death and sacrifice of Jesus -- and of the mystery of the church -- how Christ brought together Jews and Gentiles to become one church -- one family -- one people under Him
-- that is the foundation of Paul's prayer -- that is the truth of God's word that he stands on as he begins here -- “for this reason” -- for all that Christ has done for us -- because of this -- I kneel here in prayer for you
-- it's important to know this, because the only reason we can come before God is because of what Christ has done for us -- we, too, stand on this promise of the forgiveness of sins and new life with Jesus when we come before the Father in our prayers -- that is why we are told to pray in Jesus' name -- for it is in His name -- as Paul puts it, “for this reason” -- that we can come confidently and boldly before the throne of God
-- don't get hung up on Paul's statement that he kneels there in prayer for the Ephesians -- prayer is not so much about our physical posture as it is about the position of our heart -- most people in Paul's day prayed standing up, with arms uplifted to heaven -- Paul is making a point here to the people that he cared about them so much that as he prayed, he dropped to his knees before God in a symbol of humbleness and awe and worship
-- it was Paul's heart and his relationship with God that drove him to his knees -- and if you are led to pray in a similar manner, that's great -- but you can pray as you stand, as you sit, as you drive -- don't close your eyes -- as you go about your day -- the important is not how you pray, but that you pray and that your prayers are real and from the heart as Paul's
-- one other point before we leave these verses -- up till now in the Book of Ephesians, Paul has been referring to God simply as God -- but here in his prayer, he switches to the use of the term "Father" -- he does this because he is trying to make the point that the church is not just a group of people, but a family with a Father -- and that our name -- our heritage -- our lineage -- is derived from our Father who art in Heaven
-- verse 16 [read vs. 16]
16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
-- In this prayer, Paul makes four petitions to God on behalf of the Ephesians -- we see the first of these four here in verse 16 -- Paul prays that the believers would be strengthened with the power of God in their inner being
-- if there is one mistake that all of us make in our prayers it is that we pray without power -- we pray in our own strength and not in the strength of the Holy Spirit within us -- and this leads to two problems
-- first, because we don't pray with power, our prayers are too small -- and second, because we don't pray with power, our prayers are too general
-- as James says, "You have not because you ask not" -- we get what we pray for, and when we pray small prayers that are not specific, that is what we get -- we don't get what we desire because we aren't asking God to do anything big in our lives
-- how many times do your prayers consist of phrases like, "Thank you, Lord, for today -- please bless me and please bless my family -- protect us today -- keep us safe"
-- I have to admit my prayers sound like this far too often -- small, safe, and general prayers -- and I think God must get frustrated with us because He has all to give us -- as Paul said over in Ephesians 1:3, God has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ -- and rather than asking God to move mightily in our lives and in the lives of those around us, we simply pray, "Lord, if it's not too much trouble, please bless us today"
-- I wonder if God isn't listening to our prayers and saying, "Just ask Me -- just ask Me to do something big -- something that will show off my glory -- something that will show this world what a powerful and great God I am"
-- let me give you an example of someone who wasn't afraid to pray big and bold prayers in the power of God
-- Martin Luther, the father of the Protestant Reformation -- his friend and assistant Friedrich (ee) Myconius was very sick -- he was actually on his death bed, and his family and friends had gathered around because he was expected to pass on at any time -- Myconius had a farewell message sent to Luther, praying that God would continue His ministry and reformation through him
-- but listen to how Luther responded -- Luther wrote a prayer in response, "I command you in the name of God to live because I still have need of you in the work of reforming the church -- the Lord will never let me hear that you are dead, but will permit you to survive me -- for this I am praying...because I seek only to glorify the name of God"
-- Wow! -- here Myconius is on his death bed, making his final peace with this world, and when he tells Luther he's dying, Luther says, "No, I'm not going to allow it -- My God is not going to allow it" -- Myconius had already lost the ability to speak -- but he recovered from his sickness and lived six more years -- he finally died two months after Luther did, just as Luther asked in his prayer3
-- now that's a bold, powerful, specific prayer -- and that's the way we should pray to our Father, as well
-- as Craig Groeschel put it: "pray big and specific prayers because general prayers do not move God to specific actions"
-- look at verse 17a
17a so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
-- here we see a pattern that is common in Paul's prayer -- the use of the phrase, "so that" -- Paul's prayers had a purpose -- and Paul prays here that we would be strengthened with God's power SO THAT Christ may dwell within us through faith
-- what is faith? -- faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see -- our prayers operate in the realm of faith -- we pray for what we do not see -- we pray for God to move mightily in our lives -- we pray for healing and for grace and for changed lives and transformed hearts -- we don't see any of that -- but we pray in faith, being sure of what we hope for and certain that God will bring His power to bear in our lives so that His glory may be magnified
-- if we are to transform our prayer life from work and duty to a vibrant life of fun and success, we have to know that Christ dwells within us and we have to have faith that He wants to glorify Himself through us in great and powerful ways
-- look back at the second part of verse 17b [read 17b-21]
17b And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
-- the third purpose of this prayer of Paul was that the believers of Christ would know His love -- how is it that we can boldly approach the throne of Christ? -- because we know He loves us and desires the best for us
-- when we pray, we need to remember that we're not praying to some judge up in the sky who weighs the value of our request against others -- the answers to our prayers are not based on how good or how bad we've been that day -- the answers to our prayers aren't about whether we read our Bible that day or went to church last Sunday
-- no, the answers to our prayers are based solely on the love of God for us -- and Paul says that love is so deep and so high and so wide that we can't fully encompass it -- we can't know it completely
-- think of the ocean -- we have no way of truly measuring the width and the depth and the expanse of that body of water -- and that's the way God's love is -- it so much greater than anything we could every imagine -- and God pours out His power and His grace on us because He loves us beyond comprehension -- it’s like Crowder put it in the song, “Oh, How He Loves us”: “If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking…” -- that’s the way God loves us
-- so, when you pray, remember this one thing -- God loves you and wants you to have the best in your life -- He wants to give you everything you need -- not because He has to -- but because He loves us and wants us to enjoy life with Him
-- when we come to God with our requests, He listens as our loving Father -- He listens with a heart turned towards us -- wanting to give us even more than what we ask
-- what a difference it could make in our prayer lives if we could just grasp how much God truly loves us...
-- we also see here in verse 19 the final purpose of this prayer of Paul -- he prays that we would be filled to the measure of the fullness of God -- this is a prayer for holiness -- a prayer that our lives would resemble the life of Christ -- that we would live rich and full and abundant lives that reflect God's glory in all we say and do and believe
-- this is a prayer we should be praying for our families -- for our parents -- our spouses -- our children -- rather than praying, "God bless them -- God keep them safe" -- we should be praying prayers of boldness and power in their lives and asking God to let them reflect His glory and goodness to this world
-- prayers like "Father God, I pray that you would touch my husband -- my daughter -- my son -- today -- that you would humble them before You and that you would let them be bold in his faith -- I pray that they would bow their knees in full surrender to your Son, Jesus, and they would stand up as fully devoted followers of Jesus, men and women after God's own heart, that our family would be different because they lead us to the things of God and they are close to Jesus, hearing from His Word. That generations would be different because my family fully belong to you."3
-- prayers like, "God, raise up my children to be spiritual leaders in their school. God, may they stand out for the glory of Jesus. I pray they would be bold in their faith, that they would be leaders in their Faith. -- that they would be an example to others of Your love."3
-- verse 19 tells us that we should pray for holiness and faithfulness -- in our lives and in the lives of our family and friends -- so that God might be glorified through us and in us
III. Closing
-- let me close by sharing with you a story from Skye Jethani's book, "The Divine Commodity" -- in this story, Skye talks about a trip he took to New Delhi, India, with his father -- as they were walking the streets in New Delhi, a little boy -- skinny and crippled -- approached them and cried out, "One rupee, please! Just one rupee"
-- after trying to ignore his pleas and just walk by, eventually Skye's father turned to the boy and asked him, "What do you want?" -- "Just one rupee, sir"
-- "How about I give you five rupees?" his father responded -- the boy's face flashed anger -- he pulled his hand back and sneered at Skye and his father -- he thought Skye's father was mocking him -- making a joke about him -- after all, no one would willingly give up five rupees -- the little boy turned away and started cursing under his breath
-- Skye's father reached into his pocket -- and when he heard the coins jingle, the boy stopped and looked back at the father -- Skye's father was holding out a five-rupee coin -- he approached the boy and placed the coin in his hand -- The boy didn't move or say a word -- He just stared at the coin in his hand -- Skye and his father continued on and walked past him down the street
-- A moment later the boy started shouting again, but this time, instead of begging for a rupee, he was yelling, "Thank you! Thank you, sir! Bless you!" He raced after us once again—not for more money but to touch Skye's father's feet. …
-- Skye writes, "This, I imagine, is how our God sees us—as miserable creatures in desperate need of his help -- But rather than asking for what we truly need -- rather than desiring what he is able and willing to give -- we settle for lesser things."4
-- and we miss out on the blessings He has in store for us -- including the greatest blessing of all -- touching the feet of the Master
-- it’s just like C.S. Lewis wrote: “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
-- I want to encourage you this week to think about this prayer of Paul as you turn to God with your own prayers -- I want to encourage you to pray differently this week -- pray the sunset -- pray the beauty of this world -- capture God’s love in your heart and in your words and in your prayers
-- pray in the power that comes from the Spirit indwelling us -- pray bold and specific prayers through faith -- pray knowing that God loves us -- that God loves you -- and He wants to give you all that you need and desire and want
-- and pray not just for the things of this world -- but pray that He would change us and change our families -- that He would make us holy as He is holy -- pray prayers that will glorify Him this week
-- let us pray
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1 This series was derived and modified from the four part series "Pray" developed and preached by Craig Groeschel, LifeChurch.tv
2 Mary Lewis, First Baptist Church
3 Craig Groeschel, Sermon "Pray: Part 1," LifeChurch.tv
4 Skye Jethani, The Divine Commodity (Zondervan, 2009), pp. 113-114
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