Apostolic Prayers
Prayer for Spiritual Strength and Understanding of God’s Love
Intro
The beauty of the cross
God's Call of Salvation
Being Chosen by God
God's Purpose for Your Life
By grace through faith
Transformative Power of God's Grace
The unification of Jew and gentile
Oneness in christ
Embracing Unity in Christ
Embracing Diversity
Ephesians 3:14–21
Prayer for Spiritual Strength
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.
Verse break down
There are four specific things Paul asks for in this prayer:
1.For Strength
2.For Christ to dwell in us
3.To know his love
4.The fullness of God.
We would be strengthened
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,
Matthew 16:25 (ESV)
25 "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."
Ephesians 4:15
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into
Christ.
Full time Christ-bearers
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted
and grounded in love,
(catoy-ke sai)
The Greek word for "dwell" (κατοικῆσαι, katoikēsai) implies a permanent, settled residence.
This suggests that Christ is not merely a visitor in the hearts of believers but takes up
permanent residence there.
To know his love
19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,
1 John 4:10
10 This is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the
propitiation for our sins.
2. Colossians 1:21–22 (ESV)
"And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now
reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and
above reproach before him."
1. Fullness of God
19 that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
1 Peter 4:16
16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that
name.
1 Corinthians 13:1-7, 13
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a
clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all
knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am
nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love,
I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not
insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing,
but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures
all things.
8 Love never ends.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
No comments:
Post a Comment