Praying Ephesians 3: Strength, Christ in Hearts, Fullness

Psalm 46 stands over forty-six years and says what needs saying first: God is a very present help in trouble, and God says, “Be still and know that I am God.” The number forty-six becomes a sweet reminder of mission, rest, priestly setting apart, and the Lord’s faithfulness, because God has done well and deserves all praise and honor.

Paul bows both knees before the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, because reconciliation in Christ is the reason prayer can get that big. Jesus has reconciled Jew and Gentile, bond and free, rich and poor, male and female, and Christ is preeminent over every lesser label and every denominational distinctive. The Father names the whole family in heaven and on earth, so the family of God includes saints already with the Lord and saints still walking around Greenwood. The Father is both Abba, daddy, and patria, the reverenced progenitor of all things, and that paradox brings nearness and holy respect together.

Paul’s first purpose clause asks that God grant inner strength through the Spirit. The strength is not bench-press strength, but vigorous resistance, the kind that keeps standing when adversity, sickness, suffering, and the evil one try to wear a soul down. Isaiah 40 says God gives power to those with no might, like the man with the withered hand who can only want to obey until Christ supplies the strength.

Paul’s second purpose clause asks that Christ dwell in hearts through faith. Christ does not come like a guest in a tent, but like the rightful owner of the house. The heart hands over the title deed, and Christ starts taking down the pictures that do not belong in His home. Faith rests in His death, burial, and resurrection, and the life now lived is Christ living in and through His people.

Paul’s third purpose clause asks that love send roots deep and wide. Cross love gives depth in drought and stability in wind, because nothing heals and steadies like the love of God shown at Calvary. The word comprehend means to grasp with both hands and say, “Mine,” refusing to let the evil one steal the love proven at the cross. That love reaches into the infinite reference point of triune love, Father, Son, and Spirit loving from all eternity.

Paul’s final purpose clause asks that God’s people be filled with all the fullness of God. That is a big ask, but prayer comes to a King, and large petitions honor His greatness. Ephesus later proved that orthodoxy without first love is a dangerous thing, so love must stay primary while prayer asks for salvation, reconciliation, healing, neighbor love, enemy love, and grace upon grace.

##

Key Takeaways

• 1. Bow now before Jesus’ lordship Paul’s bowed knees show that reverence is not a religious decoration, but the right posture before the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every knee will bow later, so the wise soul bows now, gladly and willingly. Christ’s preeminence relativizes every smaller identity, and the whole family gets its name under Him. [48:57]
• 2. Ask for resisting inner strength The strength Paul asks for is not the kind that impresses people for a moment. It is vigorous resistance, the Spirit-given ability to stand when adversity keeps pressing and the evil one keeps sifting. God gives this power especially to those who have no might, so weakness becomes the very place where Christ’s strength is known. [54:38]
• 3. Let Christ take the title deed Christ dwelling in the heart means more than being welcomed as a polite guest. Faith hands Him the house, the deed, the rooms, and even the pictures on the wall. His presence becomes permanent, and His lordship begins to rearrange what does not make Him at home. [61:21]
• 4. Grasp cross love as mine The love of Christ must be pulled down, held with both hands, and claimed against every accusation. The evil one can raise hard questions about pain, confusion, and loss, but the cross answers with a love that cannot be honestly challenged. Cross love roots the soul in the eternal triune love of Father, Son, and Spirit. [71:25]
• 5. Bring large petitions to the King Paul’s request to be filled with all the fullness of God is not small praying. A great King is honored by prayers that match His grace, power, and generosity. Salvation, reconciliation, healing, neighbor love, and enemy love are not too much to ask from the God who does exceeding abundantly above all that is asked or thought.
  
  ## [82:22]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [39:17] - Forty Six Years of Faithfulness
• [41:10] - Psalm 46 and Resting in God
• [42:30] - Paul’s Prayer in Ephesians 3
• [45:04] - God Grants From His Riches
• [46:46] - Reconciliation Under Christ
• [48:09] - Bowing Both Knees to the Father
• [52:17] - Strengthened With Inner Resistance
• [57:04] - Asking for the Holy Spirit
• [59:23] - Christ Dwelling at Home in the Heart
• [66:42] - Rooted and Grounded in Love
• [70:26] - Grasping the Love of God
• [74:17] - Filled With All God’s Fullness
• [79:50] - Ephesus and First Love
• [82:22] - Praying Prayers Worthy of God

1. In Ephesians 3, what are the four main things Paul asks the Father to do in this prayer? [00:43:05]
2. What does Paul say about the family of God in Ephesians 3, and who is included in that family? [00:50:18]
3. In Psalm 46, what two descriptions are given of God in trouble and in stillness? [00:41:16]
4. In Revelation 2:4, what problem did Jesus identify in the church at Ephesus, even though many other things were going well? [01:20:28]

1. Paul bows both knees before the Father because Christ has reconciled people who were divided. What does that suggest about how Christians should think about identity, division, and the lordship of Jesus over every smaller label? [00:46:46]
2. Paul asks for strength in the inner being, and that strength is described as resistance rather than display. Why might that be the kind of strength believers most need in suffering, temptation, or long seasons of pressure? [00:52:53]
3. Christ dwelling in the heart through faith is pictured more like an owner settling into a house than a guest visiting for a while. What does that picture help make clear about repentance, surrender, and ongoing change in a believer’s life? [01:01:21]
4. Paul prays that believers would know the love of Christ, and yet says that love surpasses knowledge. How can believers truly know something that is bigger than what they can fully explain? [01:11:44]

1. Every knee will bow before Jesus, so the wise response is to bow now. Where is there resistance in the heart right now—an area of pride, control, fear, or self-importance that needs to come under the lordship of Christ? [00:48:57]
2. God gives strength to those who know they do not have it. Where does life currently feel most “withered”—body, mind, marriage, work, grief, temptation, endurance—and what would it look like to ask specifically for Spirit-given inner strength there? [00:54:42]
3. Christ does not merely visit the heart; he makes himself at home there. What “pictures on the wall” might need to come down—habits, entertainments, grudges, private sins, or old ways of thinking that do not belong in his house? [01:01:53]
4. The love of Christ is meant to be grasped with both hands and claimed as “mine.” When accusation, confusion, or pain starts questioning the goodness of God, what helps the heart hold on to the cross instead of letting go? [01:11:25]
5. A church can be doctrinally careful and still drift from first love. What are some early warning signs that love for Christ is cooling, even while Christian activity keeps going? [01:19:50]
6. God is able to do immeasurably more than all that is asked or imagined. What is one prayer that has become too small, too cautious, or too manageable, and how might it be brought before God again with greater faith? [01:22:22]
7. Large petitions honor a great King. Who specifically needs prayer right now for salvation, reconciliation, healing, neighbor love, or even enemy love, and which of those requests feels hardest to ask with real faith? [01:23:45]