Tag Archives: Prayer

Ephesians 6:18

Posted on by
Reply

Ephesians 6:18 (ESV)

18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

I started writing a personal commentary on the book of Ephesians a long time ago in order to provide myself a focus for my Bible reading and study. If you look at the dates of my postings, you’ll notice that it didn’t help much with a daily focus. Just like a lot of things in life, this project has been subject to procrastination.

We’ve just about finished with the section on the armor of God and have arrived at verse 18. The verse begins with “praying always.” What this means to me is that prayer should be a regular activity for us as well as on the tip of our tongues, so to speak, so that our communication with God is ongoing. Elsewhere the Bible says “Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

The next phrase speaks of praying with “all prayer and supplication.” Supplication seems to be the kind of praying we do the best. Supplication is asking and pleading with God to meet some need. But there are obviously several different kinds of prayer. Sometimes the word “prayer” as in this verse is just a general term for all kinds of different prayers. Prayer can include confession, thanksgiving, and praise. You may be able to think of others.

The verse concludes with the challenge to be watchful. A soldier on the night watch is ordered to be watchful. We need to be alert because the enemy is roaming around looking for someone to devour. We need to be alert to circumstances of life and the needs of our friends and neighbors so that we can bring these things to the God of heaven. And we can be especially alert for the temptation opportunities that the devil puts in front of us because this prayer instruction is given as part of our spiritual warfare.

Our praying is to be with perseverance. We should not give up. Even though we are told not to pray meaningless vain repetitions, we are nevertheless admonished to be persistent in our praying. See Jesus’ teaching on prayer in Luke 18 for example.

Besides perseverance, we are to pray supplication prayers for all saints. According to Paul in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority.” So, our prayer list probably should be a lot longer than it is. Praying for all the saints we know includes our family, people who go church with us, other friends who are believers, missionaries, etc. Than, as Paul told Timothy, we need to pray for the President and other leaders who are in authority over us.

To be honest, I find praying difficult. The list always seems so long that my endurance in prayer is not what I would like it to be. Paul talks about striving in prayer (Rom 15:30), and that is what it feels like to me much of the time.

Pray for yourself and for your brothers and sisters, that all of us would be able to be more diligent in our praying. This is not a legalistic thing where you check it off your list and say, “I’ve achieved that goal for today. I’m good.” No, it is a matter of communicating with the God who loves us and letting Him know how great He is, what you’re thankful for, and what you need. The throne room is open. We should go in without fear and bring our requests to Him.

Battle Plan Series – Strategy 1 – Prayer

Posted on by
Reply

Strategy 1  My prayer life is active and effective.

In each of these strategies, I put the strategy as an affirmative statement of fact. That helps us focus on what the goal is. It is a true or false statement. Within our own hearts we know whether the statement is true for us or not.  Is this true for you:  My prayer life is active and effective?

Every Christian man should have an active and effective prayer life. James 5:16 says:  “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

At the conclusion on the passage in Ephesians where Paul discusses the Christian armor, he writes, “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”  Ephesians 6:18

The Bible speaks over and over about the importance of prayer and yet praying is a very difficult thing for us. Our lives are busy, and taking the time to pray does not seem to us to be as important as God makes it out to be. And yet it is probably the core of our relationship with Christ along with the reading of His Word.

So if we are struggling with temptation, let’s not look to a lot of phony remedies and psychological tricks. Let’s invest the time it takes to really get to know God by spending some quality time with Him in prayer.

Ephesians 3:17

Posted on by
Reply

So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

In verse 16 Paul had prayed that the people would be strengthened with power in their inner being through the working of the Holy Spirit.

Now in verse 17, he gives the reason. He says, “So that…” What is the reason he prays for this inner strengthening? It is so that Christ (the Messiah) would dwell in our hearts through faith.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what faith is. So many people speak of faith in the abstract. It’s like faith in faith. Just believe. But the question needs to be asked, Believe in what?

In the Christian teaching, faith doesn’t stand alone. Faith believes some things to be true. Paul said in Acts 27:23, “ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.”

In Romans 4, speaking of Abraham, Paul says that he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. (Romans 4:20-21)

The teaching of Christianity is that we are saved by faith, by believing what God says. God says He will give eternal life to those who believe Him. You either believe Him or you don’t. It’s not the prayer, the profession, or the obedience that saves. It is the believing. All of those other things follow.

So back to verse 17. We believe, and Christ dwells in our hearts. Then comes another “so that….” So that you may have the strength to do something (verse 18). We’ll get to that next time. But first, what is the condition for having the verse 18 strength?

Paul is praying that we would be rooted and grounded in love. When a plant is well-rooted, it is difficult to pull up. It’s foundation in the soil is firm. Grounded means established. The foundation is strong. Both words give different pictures of the same thing. Something that is rooted and grounded is firmly established. Such things are difficult to dislodge. It’s the opposite of sitting loosely on top of a pile of sand that the wind and water can erode and undermine.

The Spirit strengthens our inner man with power so that Christ will dwell in our hearts by faith. That will result in our being firmly established in love so that we are not easily shaken or moved from that position. Having been firmly placed in love, we then have the strength to do what verse 18 speaks about.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 10:53 AM December 14, 2020.

Ephesians 3:16

Posted on by
Reply

That according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.

Ephesians

Ephesians 3:16

Beginning in verse 16, we enter into the content of Paul’s prayer. Petition 1 – God would grant you to strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person. He asked that this be provided according to the riches of God’s glory.

So, let’s pick this apart a little bit. First we need to consider how great and deep are the riches of God’s glory? I think we would all agree that they are infinite. His glory is infinite and the riches of his glory are infinite. It is according to this richness that he bases his request. In other words, use the vastness of your power and glory to provide what I’m asking for to these people.

What, then, does he request? He is asking that God would strengthen their inner being, their heart and soul. Further, he is asking that it be strengthened with power. Paul is asking that his people would have an inner strength provided by God Himself.

And finally, the mediator of this transfer of strength is the Holy Spirit. In other words, may God use His Holy Spirit to infuse power into you so that the inner man is strengthened.

Isn’t that something we all would like to see in our own lives and in the lives of our fellow Christians. Maybe we should pray for things like this rather than merely praying for health and safety.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 10:41 AM December 11, 2020.

A Model Prayer

Posted on by
Reply

2 Thessalonians 1:11–12 (ESV)

11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul’s prayers for the people of God should help us know how we should pray for others. Prayer is a difficult thing, and if you are anything like me, you tend to pray the same things over and over for the people in your life.

Let’s take a look at this prayer from 2 Thessalonians 1.

First, we notice that there is a purpose to his praying: “To this end we pray.” What is this end or purpose? He explains it after the word “that.” So I conclude that it is important to have a purpose in our praying. It should not merely be out of duty or habit, although both motivations are good. But there should be consciousness of who we are talking to, and the reason we are making the request.

Paul’s first purpose is that “God may make you worthy of his calling.” Sometimes we think that we need to be worthy in order for god to call us. But the reverse is true. No one is worthy to be called by God. God calls us, we receive that calling by faith in Him, and then He begins to make us worthy of that calling. In Ephesians 4:1, Paul urges us to walk in a manner worthy of the calling that we’ve been given. We live under the umbrella of the grace of God. There is no condemnation for the Christian (Romans 8:1), and therefore we have space and freedom to grow in our way of living so that we become more worthy of the calling that we already have.

The second aim Paul has is that God “may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power.” We all know that our aspirations for living a godly life out pace our ability and resolve to actually live that life. Paul is praying that God would fulfill those resolves. It is God who strengthens the resolve and fulfills those desires for good that we have. And it is also His power that results in the outcomes that we may see coming from our faith.

And what is the actual purpose of these goals? That the Lord Jesus may be glorified in us and ultimately we will be glorified in Him when, at the end of time, all in the universe will be able to see the results of the multifaceted grace of God.

What if we could all pray like this for ourselves, our family members, and our brothers and sisters in Christ. What a powerful effect it would produce in our homes, churches, and country.

Thoughts on Praying for our Leaders

Posted on by
Reply

Some thoughts about praying for leaders.

1 Timothy 2:1–4 (NKJV)

1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

We have a tendency to isolate a verse or two that we’re focusing on from the rest of the passage. That has happened to me in relationship to this passage. We are exhorted by Paul to pray for all who are in authority over us so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life. What we usually think about is to pray for wisdom for our leaders so that things stay calm and crisis free so that there won’t be a lot of turmoil in our lives. Praying for wisdom for our leaders is a valid focus of our prayers. But there is more to this passage. First, I notice that the purpose of living a quiet and peaceable life is for the demonstration of our godliness and reverence. But more than that, the passage is focused on the fact that God is a saving God. He desires all men to be saved, and that includes our leaders. I’m starting to think that this should be the main focus of our prayers for our leaders. Leaders who know Christ will govern with wisdom and promote the quiet and peaceable conditions that we desire.

Appropriate Prayer Motivation

Posted on by
Reply

Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, came against Jerusalem with threats of destruction. He explained the futility of resisting because he had already overcome the gods of the other nations. Not a one of them was able to stand up against him. Hezekiah has an interesting comment in his prayer to God about this situation. He says, “Truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire.” He admits that this part of what the king said is true. But then he recognizes the underlying falsehood of Assyria’s claim. “…for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands – wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them.” Hezekiah then goes on to make his request of God, but I was especially impressed with the motivation Hezekiah brought for God to answer the prayer. “Now therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God, You alone.” The fame and glory of God was his motivation. May that be our motivation also in our prayers. This incident was found in 2 Kings 19.

Continual Repentance

Posted on by
Reply

A prayer from The Valley of Vision, Banner of Truth, page 76

O God of Grace,

Thou has imputed my sin to my substitute, and hast imputed his righteousness to my soul, clothing me with a bridegroom’s robe, decking me with jewels of holiness.

But in my Christian walk I am still in rags; my best prayers are stained with sin; my penitential tears are so much impurity; my confessions of wrong are so many aggravations of sin; my receiving the Spirit is tinctured with selfishness.

I need to repent of my repentance; I need my tears to be washed; I have no robe to bring to cover my sins, no loom to weave my own righteousness;

I am always standing clothed in filthy garments, and by grace am always receiving change of raiment, for thou dost always justify the ungodly;

I am always going into the far country, and always returning home as a prodigal, always saying, Father, forgive me, and thou art always bringing forth the best robe.

Every morning let me wear it, every evening return in it, go out to the day’s work in it, be married in it, be wound in death in it, stand before the great white throne in it, enter heaven in it shining as the sun.

Grant me never to lose sight of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the exceeding righteousness of salvation, the exceeding glory of Christ, the exceeding beauty of holiness, the exceeding wonder of grace.

Paradoxes by Valley of Vision

Posted on by
1

O Changeless God,

Under the conviction of thy Spirit I learn that the more I do, the worse I am,
the more I know, the less I know,
the more holiness I have, the more sinful I am,
the more I love, the more there is to love.

O wretched man that I am!

O Lord,
I have a wild heart, and cannot stand before thee;

I am like a bird before a man. How little I love thy truth and ways!

I neglect prayer, by thinking I have prayed enough and earnestly, by knowing thou hast saved my soul.

Of all hypocrites, grant that I may not be an evangelical hypocrite,
who sins more safely because grace abounds,
who tells his lusts that Christ’s blood cleanseth them,
who reasons that God cannot cast him into hell, for he is saved,
who loves evangelical preaching, churches, Christians, but lives unholily.

My mind is a bucket without a bottom, with no spiritual understanding,
no desire for the Lord’s Day, ever learning but never reaching the truth,
always at the gospel-well but never holding water.

My conscience is without conviction or contrition, with nothing to repent of.

My will is without power of decision or resolution. My heart is without affection, and full of leaks.

My memory has no retention, so I forget easily the lessons learned, and thy truths seep away.

Give me a broken heart that yet carries home the water of grace.

From Valley of Vision, published by Banner of Truth. Page 72

Battle Plan – Strategy 1 – Prayer Life

Posted on by
Reply

Strategy 1  My prayer life is active and effective.

 

In each of these strategies I put the statement as an affirmative statement of fact. That helps us focus on what the goal is. It is a true or false statement. Within our own hearts we know whether the statement is true for us or not.  Is this true:  My prayer life is active and effective.

 

Every Christian man should have an active and effective prayer life. James 5:16 says:  Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

 

At the conclusion on the passage in Ephesians where Paul discusses the Christian armor, he writes, “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”  Ephesians 6:18

 

The Bible speaks over and over about the importance of prayer and yet praying is a very difficult thing for us. Our lives are busy and taking the time to pray does not seem to us to be as important as God makes it out to be. And yet it is probably the core of our relationship with Christ along with the reading of His Word.

 

So if we are struggling with temptation, let’s not look to a lot of phony remedies and psychological tricks. Let’s invest the time it takes to really get to know God by spending some quality time with Him in prayer.

 

Priority Goal 1: I am going to invest time in prayer each day to strengthen my spiritual life.

 

If that is your goal, get out your calendar right now and decide when you are going to pray today and add it to your list of things to accomplish.