Apostolic Praying

By Words of Hope, Saturday, October 13, 2007

Read: Ephesians 3:14-21

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father. (v. 14)

At last Paul comes to the end of his prayer for the Ephesians. We do well to use this prayer for ourselves, especially the doxology with which it ends. Here, if ever, is a prayer which "humbles the sinner and exalts the Savior," as Charles Simeon said.

To pray in the apostolic way, start in an attitude of reverence, whether just of heart, or of body as well. (Beware of slouching when you pray, either physically or spiritually!) Acknowledge the glory of the One to whom we come and the resources to which we look. Father is a very rich word, reminding us that God is the source of all our best human relationships. Pray that God will give you power to know his love. Power as a mark of the Christian is always the power of the Holy Spirit, made soft and welcoming by the love of Jesus as we experience his life in our being and are overwhelmed by his boundless love.

Paul started Ephesians with praise and finishes similarly. Again we are on the borders of what we can grasp, but as we pray to the One who can do "far more than we all can ask or imagine" (v. 20), a sense of God's greatness will soar into us and permeate us.

Prayer: "To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus."

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