Paul's Prayer in Ephesians 3

Our pastor read and prayed this passage in closing on Sunday.

Ephesians 3:14-21

For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

I was very moved by it. Amazing to think how many times I've read it and not seen or understood it, at least not like I saw it and understood it a few days ago.

...that He would grant you,
It's a gift. How oft this idea of a "gift" - not sought and yet received - not earned but freely given - is repeated throughout the Bible. And Paul is praying this for those of us who believe. He's praying it for me.

(Now what is Paul praying that I'd be granted? Keep reading...)

...according to the riches of His glory,
God is rich beyond all comprehension, and His glory is infinite - pretty deep source for the aforementioned gift.

(And this thing that I'm hoping to be granted, according to this amazing extent is...?)

...to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man;
Power through His Spirit - that's a lot of power, and in the inner man is where I need it most for sure.

(Ah, so Paul is praying that I'd be strengthened - but not just any strength, that which comes w/God's power, which is infinite, and which will meet my deepest need, and is through His Spirit. Pretty radical!)

... so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;
This would be the why . . . . . but note it also gets back to the inner man (heart) and gift (faith) ideas. Lots of cool repetition. I like repetition. I need repetition!

Christ dwelling in my heart is a good thing. Yes, please pray for this - by faith, through the holy spirit, and definitely richly for God's glory.

(But wait, there's more!)

... and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
I love gardening analogies. Rooted, grounded, very concrete words applying to abstract ideas like love. My kind of thinking! (I can begin to understand it). With my roots firmly set - grounded in the work that Christ is doing in my inner man, the love that he has shown me and in which all he does in and through me is founded...

(Ok so now we're praying for another thing. First for strength, and now something else. Keep on reading to know what...)

...may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge,
Ah, So that I may know Christ's love, in all its splendor - its breadth, length, height, depth - all its dimensions - that is knows no bounds, that it cannot be understood, examined, etc. It surpasses knowledge, but is known in the heart. This touches on other aspects of this passage again, like the riches of His glory, like His power - all infinite and beyond what we can expect or even comprehend.

(Ok so his prayer is for strength and comprehension... keep explaining...)

...that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
That's pretty complete. Filled to the fullness. Hmm. Interesting to consider. How can I be filled as full as one who is infinite? Beyond me to fathom that, as the following words emphasize.

...Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think,...
Again, we think of His riches, the source of all he gives us, and are amazed to consider that we who are so undeserved could possibly be the recipient of this... We can't even fathom it. Wow.

So Paul is praying here that we would know Christ's love and that we would be strengthened in the inner man. Oh boy is this a good prayer. Wonderful for me in the daily grind. Wonderful for my friend who just lost her mom. Wonderful for my friends fighting cancer, for my friends saying goodbye for the first time to their college students, for my friends whose children have just "left the nest" whether by way of graduating and moving out on their own, or by getting married, and so on (there seem to be a lot of these this summer), for my friends whose son was just deployed to Afghanistan, for my friends struggling with difficult decisions, discipline issues or relational tensions.

Father may I know your grace and not doubt its sufficiency. May my time in your word show me your love and may you indeed strengthen me in the inner man. May my roots be growing ever deeper and may I know that I cannot know and comprehend you, but may I trust you knowing that you are who you are.