This Day in History: 0000-09-22

September 22 – Ephesians 3:14-21

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.  Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.  Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to Him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

Do we have the power to understand God’s love?  This passage is jam-packed with truths, and there is much to discuss, but at the moment that little phrase sticks out to me.

Paul is praying that God would give the Ephesians the “power to understand” God’s love, because, it is something that all God’s children should have.  As believers, all our power comes through the work of the Holy Spirit of Christ, who has made His home in our hearts.  So, let’s stop right now, and ask Him to lead us into this understanding.  Let’s ask for His power to help us, because God’s love is so wide, and long, and high, and deep that it is incomprehensible to us without His help.

Let’s follow the example of Paul today and fall to our knees in prayer.  Literally!  Let’s get down on the floor before our Heavenly Father, remembering that He is the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.  Let’s remember too, that His resources are unlimited.  Unlimited!  And let’s join together, allowing this passage to guide our prayer,

“Dear Heavenly Father, we come before You Lord, recognizing who You are.  We are in awe of You as the only true God and the only source of real power.  From Your glorious, unlimited resources, we ask that you give us some of that power right now, so that we will be able to understand (as much as it is possible with our fallen, finite minds) Your great love.  You’ve given us Your Spirit, and You’ve made Your home in our hearts, so give us a strength from within that trusts wholly in You.  Father, help us to trust You with everything! Every little detail of every single day.

As we are faithful to seek You daily, help our roots to grow down deep into Your love.  God make us immovably strong as the winds and the storms of life rage around us.  Keep us planted firmly in You!  God, we want to experience daily Your incomprehensible love.  We long to feel Your comfort each day and to know without a doubt that we are truly Yours!  How full our lives would be if we could simply grasp that truth.  Lord, help us to grasp that truth!

May we spend our lives glorifying You.  May all our glory, and all the glory of Your church across the world and throughout time go to You alone God! As we watch You accomplish infinitely more than we’ve asked; as You pour out unending blessings upon us that will surpass what we’ve even imagined, may we always give all the glory to You!  Thank-you for Your love!  In Jesus’s Name Amen.”