I am really inspired by this prayer and it definitely a favourite prayer of mine. It is especially significant in that it focuses on the whole trinity and the part that they all play in the glorious outworking of our faith. It's a prayer that serves as an example to me, as a pastor, of the kinds of qualities that I should pray to invade the souls of each and everyone of you. I believe it should also serve as an example of how we, as individual members of this church family, should pray for one another\.
But most of all, I believe this prayer is meant to motivate us! It is meant to impact us with a sense the wonder and value of the spiritual riches that are ours in Christ. It is meant to take hold of every fiber of our being and let the truth of those riches sink deeply into our hearts and lives and transform us from the inside-out. It is meant to inspire us to truly capture the very essence of who we are and what is ours in Christ. It is for us to live out the implications of those spiritual riches in everyday life.
For this reason I kneel before the Father
Our best attempts at spiritual formation unless they are empowered by the Spirit of God. Otherwise prayers just become spoken words, Bible study is just words read, worship music is just words sung and music played. Once Paul had emphasized and reemphasized the grace by which we stand, he now takes us another step downward in the evolution of worship and that is when we are brought to our knees. In that day it was typical for the Jews to stand in prayer as we can see in Matthew 6:5; Luke 18:11,13.
Kneeling was significant because it showed an expression of deep emotion and earnestness. We see Solomon kneeling at the dedication of the temple(1 Kings 8:54), Stephen kneeling as he was being martyred, Peter kneeling at the deathbed of Dorcas, Paul as he made his farewell to the congregations and most significantly, Jesus, as He knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane.
For us who find it natural to kneel in prayer, it would be the type of desperate prayer that would lead us to lie face down on the floor.
From whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name
Paul is praying specifically for those who are part of the family of God. This is not a prayer for just anyone, it was for those who had crossed the line of faith, those who had a defining place of giving their life over to Jesus as Saviour and Lord
We derive our significance, our purpose, our modus operandi through our identification as Jesus followers.
It was out of his glorious riches, that He is calling us to discover just how much confidence, power and resolve we have in our very being!
Prayer request #1 going INSIDE - supernatural strength to dwell in Christ
Dwell = It was a presence that He wanted to remain in us continually. It was something for us to discover in its fullness; not sporadically feel from time to time. There are some of us who feel his presence stronger in certain places more than others
Because of your relationship with Him, there is not a single spiritual thing you will ever need that is lacking from your spiritual treasure-store!! The fact is that you, as a believer, have already been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ!
I want you to write a love letter to Jesus. It can simply start, ‘Jesus I love you because’. Now, here is where it will become more stretching because as you share your heart and love with Him, you may sense a spontaneous flow of impressions coming back to you. God may be telling you of His love for you.
Prayer request # 2 more INSIDE - go to the very places where you can know the power to experience the depths of Christ’s love.
to grasp (understand that this is hard work)
The decision to remain still and be before God instead of ‘doing’ for God is a very difficult desire for us to wrap our minds and hearts around. However it is often that in those extended times of stillness where we give ourselves over to listening to Him that He washes over us with His love. For some of us it is doing something that we absolutely love that is of a pure heart and feeling His joy there.
I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure. Eric Liddell
It is a single sentiment signifying the breadth of His love in every direction of our life. It is similar to one of the statement that Zophar got right in his counsel to Job in Job 11:7-9
Here is the paradox: Paul prayed that we would “know” that which is beyond knowledge.
Realize this that as he prayed for his readers to have this experience. He was unable to describe it nor was he going to try to teach it happening in a certain way. He recognized that we are all unique in the ways that we feel our way to God. We also know that true spiritual formation is caught rather than taught. It is the gift of God rather than the achievement of humans to say that I have achieved a certain level or experience with God and therefore I have achieved a certain level of spiritual awareness. This is the danger when we describe our experiences with God and make them the standard for others to also attain or live up to.
Being still is the first step. Stillness doesn’t necessarily mean the absence of movement because often it is movement takes us there whether that is through music, dance, running, walking as we have seen.
The second step is to fix your eyes on Jesus and ask God to give you a fresh awareness of Himself, a vision, a picture.
Journal! Write your thoughts down!
Ask your Heavenly Father that you will understand and know in a very real way the significance of Jesus’ love for you.
God’s words to us are often like spontaneous thoughts that light up on our mind. However as we long to hear God’s voice, we first need to quiet ourselves in His presence and then fix our eyes on Jesus. You could ask a very simple question like, ‘Dear Lord Jesus, what is it today that you want me to know about your love?’
This is all a very small taste of what Sharon and I were able to experience over the last two days as we took part in a seminar on hearing God’s voice by Mark Virkler.
Prayer request #3 unleashed to go OUT! dream big dreams for the church for the glory of Christ
that is at work within us”; “at work” translates energoumai, meaning to be energized! Be energized by that very work that He wants to carry out through all of us collectively as a body of believers...a fusion that creates an undeniable synergy in our ministry and focus!
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