Pray BIG Prayers

Yesterday our sermon adventures into “Doxology for Life” brought us to Ephesians 3:20-21—a passionate prayer that God would be glorified.  It is simply breathtaking how the Apostle Paul prays for the church in those verses.  So, do we pray for fellow believers in such a way?  Are our prayers characterized by exuberant wonder at the greatness of God, and does that heart of praise move us to plead with the Lord for a life-changing, soul-forming, hope-igniting work of his grace in the lives of Christians we know?

Good questions!  Keeping those questions in mind, let’s expand our field of view beyond 3:20-21 to include the full content of Paul’s two major prayers in his Letter to the Ephesians:  1:15-23 and 3:14-21.  Because, you see, for all the explosive beauty of the doxology in 3:20-21, there is ever so much more to inspire and fuel our spiritual practices in these two model prayers:

Ephesians 1:15-23 (ESV):

¹⁵ For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, ¹⁶ I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, ¹⁸ having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might ²⁰ that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. ²² And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

So how should we pray, based on the preceding passage?  Short answer:  Pray BIG.  And a fuller response:

• Give thanks to God for the believers you serve and lead.
• Ask God to open the eyes of their hearts more and more to “see” and know him deeply.
• Ask the Father to enable them to truly comprehend the hope we have in Christ.
• Ask the Lord to help believers to be in awe of his saving and life-transforming power, as well as the power by which he raised and exalted Christ.
• Pray that believers would experience church life as the precious opportunity to praise and honor Jesus Christ as head of the church.

Ephesians 3:14-21 (ESV):

¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶ that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. ²⁰ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

And how should we pray based on this passage?  Short answer:  Again, pray BIG.  Expanded response:

• Pray that believers would be strengthened by God in their internal lives—in their trust in Christ who indwells them by the Spirit.
• Pray that Christians would be able more and more to comprehend the dimensions, the magnitude, of Christ’s love.
• Ask the Lord to fill his people, individually and as congregations, “with all the fullness of God,” thus making our lives deeply God-centered, God-reliant, and joyfully God-exalting—to his glory, and for our good.

Notice what’s absent from these magnificent prayers.  Paul does not include petitions about material needs or physical safety or basic creature-comforts.  Of course, it would be fine if he did; Jesus teaches us to pray for basic necessities like “daily bread.”  But the vision of spiritual life and church ministry and kingdom-advancing impact in Paul’s heart is just so much more lofty, so much more grand and glorious, than mere comfort.  And so, let me suggest a rule of thumb for our praying:  Make sure that at least half of your time and attention is focused on the Lord, his gospel, and our spiritual needs—the need people have to know and trust in Jesus, and for a genuine, growing faith, a heart of love for God, and a disposition to honor Christ in all things.

Here’s what I’m saying:  Pray BIG.  Pray unleashed prayers.  And remember, our God is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think!  “Let us pray."