Prayer for Strength - Ephesians 3:14-21

This week's Praying with Paul passage is Ephesians 3:14 - 21.  
I have to say that this passage of scripture has been an amazing encouragement to me this past week that was filled with some ups and downs.
We visited the Wood family in Toledo whose 8-year-old daughter, Ryleigh, has brain cancer.  At the end of this post is what Krista and Jadyn read to Ryleigh.
We had the opportunity to visit with friends and family from the Toledo area.
We also decided we needed to back out of our offer on the house in Grand Rapids.

It was an emotional weekend but I am thankful for not only reminders of God's power to change lives and know God's love found in this passage but also for the God who provides and loves more than I could ever imagine.

Here is a little bit of Sunday's lesson on a Prayer of Strength from Ephesians 3:14-21.

Verses 14 - 15:  For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,

God is more than worthy of worship.

This passage is filled with worship and dependence on God.

Verses 16 - 17a:  that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith

Paul prays for the strength to change.  This powerful strength comes from God, the Father, who provides from His great riches.  This powerful strength comes through God the Holy Spirit.  This powerful strength transforms us into the image of God the Son so that others will see Jesus in us. 

This is a prayer that "Christ may genuinely take up residence within us, transforming us into a house that pervasively reflects his own character."  (187)   

Philippians 4:19 repeats this idea.  "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

Verses 17b - 19:  that you being rooted and grounded in love, may have the strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Paul prays for the strength to comprehend the amazing love of God.  This is not a prayer to love God more but rather a pray that we might better understand God's love for us. (191) 

Paul "cannot think of their salvation without reminding himself that it utterly depends on God's sovereign love."  (190) 

The idea of fullness is found throughout Ephesians.  There is the fullness of God in 3:19, the fullness of Christ in 4:13, and the fullness of the Holy Spirit in 5:18 

Verses 20 - 21
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, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and over.  Amen.

God's power working in and through believers is so much more than we could ever understand . 

My prayer is that I, and those I am praying for, will 
-passionately worship the one who is over all creation and is able to do "far more abundantly than all that we ask or think"
-have the strength to continue to be changed into the image of Christ
-have the strength to understand how great the love of God is
with the ultimate goal of glorifying Him!

In God's sovereignty, while at the hospital, Krista and Jadyn opened Ryleigh's copy of the book Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing to where the bookmark was. The devotional they read her was entitled "Superpower Strength", which was a great reminder that the power to live life for God does not come from us it comes from Him.

Ryleigh wanted to hear another one so Krista turned the page and read the one entitled "Happy Birthday."  On one hand, it was a difficult one to read.  On the other hand, after reading the first devotional, it was a great, hope-filled reminder of a difficult truth. Here's what it says: 

The Queen of England has two birthdays.

On her official birthday she has to do Queen Things.  But on her actual birthday she gets to do whatever she fancies (like eat icre cream in her slippers all day if she wants). Wouldn't you like two birthdays?  Actually, when you belong to Jesus, you have THREE birthdays!There's your birthday when you were born into the world as a baby. Then there's your birthday when you say yes to Jesus and you are born all over again into God's whole new life. And then there's the birthday after you die - when Jesus takes you the hand and leads you through death - and you wake up with him into Perfect Life that won't ever end. 1 Peter 1:23 "For you have been born again, not of imperishable seed, but of imperishable, thorugh the living and enduring word of God. "

As I said, the devotional right before this one was about the superpower strength of God- that is the reason why we can confidently read the Happy Birthday devotional.