A Way to Pray for Christians

Ephesians 1:15-23

What kind ofgift do you give to the person in your life who already has everything? Moreimportantly, how do you pray for people – Christians, that is – who alreadyhave everything they need from God?

When was thelast time you thanked God for some Christians you know?

When did you say,“Thank you God for …,” naming another Christian? You don’t do this and I don’tdo this enough, but from his letter to the believers at Ephesus, we see thatPaul did this a lot (Eph 1:15-16). In fact, Eph 1:15-23 tells us both thathe prayed for other believers and how he prayed for them. Together,these verses form one long sentence, but the main verb of the sentence is, “Ido not cease to give thanks for you” (Eph 1:17).

We should thankGod for other Christians.

Give thanks means “to express appreciation.” It describes a grateful,warmhearted response to the good things in life. From this we see that Paulviewed other Christians as a benefit and blessing of life. That’s why he wasthankful for them.

Do we have thesame mentality? Do we view one another as a blessing of life? If so, then weshould go beyond feeling thankful to expressing our thanks in prayer.

Thank God forthe faith and love you see in other Christians’ lives.

Two thingsmotivated Paul to thank God for the believers at Ephesus (Eph 1:15), theirfaith in Jesus and their love for other Christians. 

To appreciatethe faith of Christians, we should look back over the first half of thischapter (Eph 1:3-14). It describes all that goes into the salvation of abeliever. Predestination, election, creation, adoption, redemption, forgivenessof sins, the seal of the Holy Spirit and more. The triune God – the Father,Son, and Spirit – does so much to make salvation possible and bring it to pass(Eph 1:3-12, 14).

The morecomplex and exquisite, detailed and expensive something is, the more weappreciate it.

That’s why wehandle porcelain dinnerware differently than paper plates, and diamond ringsthan plastic party favors. So it is with the faith and salvation of aChristian.

When youunderstand all that went into bringing a person from death to life, fromslavery to sin to being a child in God’s eternal kingdom, then you will thankGod deeply for anyone who believes in Jesus. Their salvation is not a merehuman choice – it is the result of an eternal, costly plan worked out by anall-loving, all-powerful God.

That anyone isa child of God is the most remarkable thing ever – so we should be incrediblythankful for being a believer and for having other believers inour lives.

The secondfactor that motivated Paul to thank God for the believers at Ephesus was theirlove for all the saints. This, too, is a wonder of God’s grace.

For anotherbeliever to show the kindness of God is a miracle indeed.

We don’tdeserve such love, nor do we naturally offer it to one another. We’re selfishby nature? So, when we see, hear, or experience the love of God from anotherChristian, don’t take it for granted – be thankful! You are witnessing amiracle of epic proportions.

Paul not onlythanked God for other believers, but he did so without ceasing (Eph 1:16). Thisdoesn’t mean he prayed 24 hrs. a day, 7 days a wk., 365 days a yr. It means hekept on praying for them – not just once, but a lot.

It’s normal tohear positive things about another believer and be thankful. Yet, such feelingseasily fade. It takes a God-focused, gospel-focused, doctrine-focused mindset.

The more we knowother believers, the more their faults may irritate us.

We shouldn’tlet this happen. We should be grateful for one another no matter how long welive and how many challenges we face. Our faith in God and love for otherbelievers will always be a mind-blowing, God-glorifying reality to never takefor granted.

Paul showedthis gratitude for more believers in more places than Ephesus.

• Believers at Rome, even though hehad never met them (Rom1:8).
• Believers at Philippi, esp. sincethey supported his missionary work (Phil 1:3).
• Perhaps most remarkable of all is thathe thanked God for the believers at Corinth, even though they exhibited carnalityand caused him much stress (1Cor 1:4).

So we see thatwhen Paul prayed for other believers, he thanked God for them – he didn’t justjump to some prayer requests. Even so, he did ask for things, but what did heask?

We should askGod for an understanding spirit.

When Paulprayed for other Christians, he asked God to give them a certain kind of spirit(Eph 1:17). This does not refer to God giving them more blessings as such or togiving them the Holy Spirit, because we already have him in our lives. Instead,it refers to God developing in us an inner disposition and ability tounderstand what he has already given us from the moment we believed on Christ.

This understandingconsists of two primary aspects, wisdom and revelation.

• Wisdom refers to understanding things so well that we can live with trueskill.
• Revelation refers to uncovering or revealing something that was formerly coveredor unknown. Paul tells what he’s referring to in the next phrase, “theknowledge of him.”

He was notpraying for believers to get new revelations from God in the form of dreams,visions, and prophecies. He was praying for them to understand what had beenrevealed to them about the person and work of Christ through the apostles. Hemakes this clear in the following verses by giving a series of three thingsrelated to the person and work of Jesus and to our new relationship with him.

These factorswere definitely “new revelation” to the church because they were newly revealedthrough the apostles. But imparting this knowledge as information alone wouldnot guarantee full understanding. That’s why Paul prayed for them to have aninner disposition to understand this revelation in a personal way and put itinto practice.

The series offactors which Paul describes in the following verses are nothing short ofastounding (Eph 1:18-23). They are extravagant, magnificent, grandiose, andbold; but most importantly, they are real.

To betransformed, we need God’s help to understand and apply his blessings for allthey’re worth.

To what degree dothese blessings genuinely influence and change the way we think and live? Isour mindset shaped by these blessings? Our decisions guided by them? Ourlifestyles influenced by them?

That’s whatPaul prayed about – for believers to understand the spiritual realitiesrevealed to us in the NT, about God and our relationship with him, that theserealities would be major factors in our everyday lives. He prayed for believersto understand three things:

1. the hope of God’s calling (Eph 1:18)
2. the riches of God’s inheritance (Eph1:18)
3. the greatness of God’s power (Eph1:19-21)

Let’s learnwhat these three things are so that we can also pray for them for one another.

Hope is aconfident, unrelenting expectation of what is in the future.

This “hope ofhis calling” likely refers to our future resurrection from the dead in a fullyrestored but sinless body – to a life with God that will never end. Callingrefers to the invitation we have received from God. His highlights Godthe Father as the one who gave the invitation (Eph 1:18), though Paul laterrefers to the “hope of your calling” (Eph 4:4).

This callguarantees our place in God’s kingdom, delivering us from evil in all its formsforever. Yet this call also affects our lives in many other ways. God calls usto:

• Fellowshipwith his Son (1 Cor 1:9).
• Peace (1 Cor 7:15).
• Grace (Gal 1:6).
• Freedom (Gal 5:13).
• His kingdom and glory (1 Thess2:12).
• Holiness (1 Thess 4:7; cf. 2:13-14).
• Eternal life (1 Tim 6:12).
• Light (1 Pet 2:9).
• Suffering (1 Pet 2:20-21).

As we considerthe hope of our calling, it should become more than a faint wish, a mirage inthe desert. It should be a firm foundation and a very clear picture that guidesus with increasing confidence through the darkest valleys of life.

A new believercannot comprehend all that Christ calls us to be, do, and experience.

We mustunderstand the essential elements of the gospel message to get started in theChristian life, but there’s so much more to discover.

• On our first day of kindergarten, webecame students. Yet we had no idea what that would mean in the next 20 yearsas we would eventually go through college.
• On the day some of us exchangedwedding vows, we became spouses. Yet we had no idea, despite premaritalcounseling, what our marriage would require of us.
• When we begin a  new job, welcome a child into the world, or moveto a new country or neighborhood, we know a lot of things on one hand and sovery little on the other.

The Christian life is like this. God calls us to salvation and we respond in faith. He gives us a new perspective, a confident expectation that never goes away. We will be raised from the dead someday, like Christ himself. We will be with him forever. We know this to a degree and it guides us through our daily lives.

The full view of our calling is far more expansive that we understand today.

Yet ourconfidence and anticipation of this should deepen and expand. It should motivateus to draw you closer to Christ, push through many trials, and achieve greaterthings for God’s glory. The full view of our calling is far more expansive thatwe understand today. That’s why we must pray for one another to understand thehope of our calling. We must give it serious consideration.

We mustunderstand our immeasurable value to God.

In addition tobetter understanding the “hope of your calling,” we must also better understand“the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (Eph 1:18). Thisphrase describes us as God’s inheritance and as “glorious riches.” In otherwords, we are God’s extravagant inheritance. We have extraordinary value andimmeasurable worth to him.

In describingus as God’s inheritance, Paul uses words for wealth and glory that the OTfrequently uses to describe the wealth and honor of kings. 2 Chron 32:27-29,for instance:

“Hezekiah had very great riches and honor. And he made himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of desirable items; storehouses for the harvest of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of livestock, and folds for flocks. Moreover he provided cities for himself, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance; for God had given him very much property.”

This in mind,it is clear that God treasures us greatly. As an earthly king values his vastaccumulation of treasure, buildings, property, and land, so God values us. Wemay know this as a fact, but do we fully comprehend the implications of thistruth for our lives today?

If God values usthis greatly, then how should we respond to the painful feelings ofworthlessness and loneliness that creep into our souls? When other peopleneglect us, criticize us, and push us around, how should this truth influence ourinner thoughts?

Furthermore, ifGod treasures us this greatly, how should we care for ourselves on a day-to-daybasis, physically and spiritually? And how should we present ourselves toothers?

In addition tothe hope of our calling and our incredible value to God, Paul prayed forbelievers to better understand one more thing.

We mustunderstand the sheer awesomeness of God’s power.

In describingthis request, Paul really emphasizes what he is trying to say. He does this in twoways. First, he uses a variety “power” words. In fact, he clusters together allthe words for “power” available to him in the Greek language of that day.

• δύναμις (dunamis) refers to God’s ability to do things (“his power,” Eph1:19). It emphasizes what he does and is doing for us – his active power.
• ἐνέργεια (energeia) refers tosomething that he does or accomplishes (“the working,” Eph 1:19). It emphasizeswhat God is able to do – his potential power.
• ἰσχύς (ischus) refers to hiscapability, strength, and personal potential (“mighty,” Eph 1:19).
• κράτος (kratos) refers to his mightand strength (“power,” Eph 1:19).
• ἐνεργέω (energeō) refers to the actof working, producing, or causing something to happen (“worked,” Eph 1:20).

By clusteringthese words together, Paul emphasizes the sheer awesomeness of God’s power.Whatever power we’re up against – whether the power of nature, of government, ofthe physical strength of another person, of spiritual forces, of technology, ofevil and death, or of any other power – that power is always outmatched by thepower of God.

As if his pointis not already clear, Paul adds two descriptive words to make his point evenmore powerfully (pun intended). He describes God’s power as “incredible” and“great.”

• Paul borrowed the word greatness(μέγεθος) from whatMoses said about God’s power in Exo 15:16 when he would conquer the nations inCanaan for his people, even though those nations were superior in militarynumbers, technology, and skill.
• Then he borrowed incredible (ὑπερβάλλον)from what magical papyri and secular inscriptions said about the various godsof Rome, Greece, and other pagan religions.

God gives usdirect access to his superior power through Christ.

To know howgreat and incredible this power truly is, then you need to consider theredemptive work of Jesus for us – his death, resurrection, and ascension (Eph1:20). When he did these things, they showed us what this power is able toaccomplish.

They also showthat he is the superior, ultimate authority in the universe – over the entireexistence of everything. No other authority or powerful being is more superioror powerful than him (Eph 1:21).

As it that’snot enough, there’s no other thing of any kind – natural disaster, militarytechnology, or anything – that is more powerful than him. Everything you canthink of is subject to him and he reigns over everything that exists (Eph1:22).

Paul explains how this powerrelates to the lives of ordinary Christian like us. Like a magnifying glass thatconcentrates sunlight on a dry leaf and as Niagara Falls gushes water on theground below, God channels his power to those who believe (Eph 1:19).

God directs hispower towards us – especially as the church.

God doesn’tscatter his power randomly to everyone in the world. He doesn’t store it up in afaraway place or diffuse it as an abstract concept. He unleashes itunreservedly towards “us who believe.” It is always available to us and isalways working on our side.

As believers,we are not only God’s children, but we are also his church (Eph 1:22-23). Theword church means “assembly” and it refers not only to our localcongregation, but to his fuller, larger church throughout the world.

It is through the church today that God displays his power and extends his authority out into the world. Governments have their place, scientific and educational advances make their mark, and wealthy philanthropists finance some wonderful causes. Yet it is through the church that God exercises his power.

It is through the church today that God displays his power and extends his authority out into the world.

Let’s be clear– the church is up against a lot of things. The church in Ephesus experienced alot of persecution and social pressure. Paul was nearly executed by localauthorities for his teaching ministry in that city on one occasion (Acts 19). Altogether,he faced strong opposition from demonic influences, crooked businessmen, andcorrupt government officials.

Nevertheless,the church persevered and so did Paul. That’s because Jesus exercises superiorpower and authority over all supernatural beings, though they somehow fightagainst us today in our Christian lives (Eph 1:22; 6:12).

Powerful,supernatural beings were somehow instrumental in working together with “theworld” and “our flesh” before our conversion to keep us in bondage to sin, andthey still fight against us today (Eph 2:1-3).

From Paul’sfourfold description of supernatural beings, we learn at least two things: (1)there are various kinds with differing functions and (2) they are powerful.

This shouldsober us enough to be prayerful, yet it should also remind us that Christ ismore powerful than them. We don’t need to get more power from God. We need torecognize the power that’s already ours through Christ to overcome whateverspiritual challenges we face.

Eph 1:21 assuresus that no supernatural power has been overlooked in some far-flung galaxy ordistant mountain. Christ is superior to every supernatural being that exists.

God cannot giveus any more grace than he’s already given in Christ.

Unfortunately,we often pray for more grace, for more blessings, for more power, for morerevelation, for more guidance, and so on. When we do this, we fail to realizethat we already have what we need – we simply need to understand it.

Let’s not belike the man who buys a screwdriver every time he needs to turn a screw, whenhe already has a dozen of them in his toolbox somewhere. And let’s not be likethe lady who always buys a new toaster every time she makes breakfast, eventhough the one she has works just fine.

At the end of our honeymoon,Sarah and I drove a Dodge Caliber from Olympia National Forest, WA to Seattle.Just before we arrived at SeaTac airport, a tractor trailer threw a rock up atour windshield, leaving a nice long crack in the glass. Since we were driving arental car, we were responsible to pay for the repairs to the tune of a fewhundred dollars.

To save moneyon our rental, I had opted not to buy renter’s insurance, which would havecovered this accident. Even more unfortunate, however, was the fact that thecredit card I had used to pay for the rental offered free rental insurance andI didn’t even know that until months later.

This is aclassic example of thinking I needed something that I already had. Failure toknow this cost me money. Yet how many times do we ask God for things

We need to bemore consistent in living for Christ as his church.

About thispassage of Scripture (Eph 1:15-23), Max Anders shares the following remarks:

This, then, is the lot of the Christian—a rich lot but one we scarcely comprehend. We have been chosen by God the Father to be his spiritual children. In Christ, our sins have been forgiven, and we have been given an inheritance that this world knows no way to measure. In the Holy Spirit, we have been sealed in Christ, made secure until our final redemption when we will see the Lord face-to-face. Clearly, the magnitude of these blessings escapes us, or else we would be more consistent in living for him than we are. That is why Paul ends the chapter by praying for us that we might comprehend the significance and magnitude of the blessings. (Max Anders, Galatians-Colossians, vol. 8, Holman New Testament Commentary [Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1999], 94-95).

That’s why wemust pray for one another (and for ourselves). We’re children of God destinedfor his kingdom. Our Savior is seated as the royal monarch over all things andshares his power with us as his children and as his church. Yet we livedefeated by sin and afraid of the world – and when we pray, we pray for thingswe already have.

When we pray,don’t pray for things we already have.

Let’s pray forone another this way – that we would understand the “hope of God’s calling” onour lives, “our value as God’s inheritance,” and the “incredible greatness ofGod’s power” at work in our lives. These are biblical prayers, and they’rebetter than the generic prayers we often offer like “bless so-and-so” and “bewith so-and-so.” If they’re a believer, then God has already blessed them. Ifthey are a Christian, then God is already with them.

Prayers likethat don’t mean anything. They’re mindless, useless, and ineffective. They’relike asking the sun to rise in the morning or an NYC traffic officer to giveyou a parking ticket when you’re parked in the wrong place. These thingsalready happen.

We would dowell to consider for ourselves the things Paul requests in his prayer for otherbelievers. We would also do well to pray for one another in the same way –“that our eyes would be open” to the spiritual realities that are already truein our lives because of Christ. That we would understand these realities betterand learn to apply them to the thoughts we think, choices we make, and thingswe do every day.