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April 21 – Ephesians 3:13-15
Ephesians 3:13-15
Why do we pray? Why do we ask God to help us? Well, the Pharisees prayed to be seen and heard of men. Many people pray just because they’re afraid or they want to escape some problem or difficulty. Well, why did the apostle Paul pray? Let me read to you from Ephesians 3:13-15. “Wherefore I desire that you faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.” “For this cause.” For what cause? Well, for the cause he mentioned in chapter 3:1. He begins this chapter in Ephesians, “For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles.” And then he went on a bit of a detour explaining why he, a Jew, was concerned about the Gentiles.
For what cause was Paul praying? For the building of the Church. He talked about that at the end of chapter 2 telling us that the Church is the habitation of God through the Spirit and in the world today God is building His Church. That’s why we pray. By the way you take your prayer list and you look at every item on your prayer list and ask yourself if God gave me this, if God answered that prayer, would it build His Church? You see prayer is not our coming to God telling Him what to do. Prayer is not getting man’s will done in heaven. It’s getting God’s will done on earth. I think it was George Mueller who said, “Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, it is laying hold of God’s willingness.” Prayer means accomplishing the Father’s will, helping the family of God. “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.”
Let’s not be selfish in our praying. When we pray, we are involved with the whole family of God and it’s wrong for me to ask my Father to do anything for me that’s going to hurt you. We’re building the whole Church as we pray. Let’s look beyond our own assembly, our own ministry. Let’s realize that as Christians we are a part of the whole family of God. Some of that family is up in heaven! Many of us are here on earth, and we’re praying together as children coming to a Father asking Him to build our lives and build His Church.
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By Back to the BibleEphesians 3:13-15
Why do we pray? Why do we ask God to help us? Well, the Pharisees prayed to be seen and heard of men. Many people pray just because they’re afraid or they want to escape some problem or difficulty. Well, why did the apostle Paul pray? Let me read to you from Ephesians 3:13-15. “Wherefore I desire that you faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.” “For this cause.” For what cause? Well, for the cause he mentioned in chapter 3:1. He begins this chapter in Ephesians, “For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles.” And then he went on a bit of a detour explaining why he, a Jew, was concerned about the Gentiles.
For what cause was Paul praying? For the building of the Church. He talked about that at the end of chapter 2 telling us that the Church is the habitation of God through the Spirit and in the world today God is building His Church. That’s why we pray. By the way you take your prayer list and you look at every item on your prayer list and ask yourself if God gave me this, if God answered that prayer, would it build His Church? You see prayer is not our coming to God telling Him what to do. Prayer is not getting man’s will done in heaven. It’s getting God’s will done on earth. I think it was George Mueller who said, “Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, it is laying hold of God’s willingness.” Prayer means accomplishing the Father’s will, helping the family of God. “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.”
Let’s not be selfish in our praying. When we pray, we are involved with the whole family of God and it’s wrong for me to ask my Father to do anything for me that’s going to hurt you. We’re building the whole Church as we pray. Let’s look beyond our own assembly, our own ministry. Let’s realize that as Christians we are a part of the whole family of God. Some of that family is up in heaven! Many of us are here on earth, and we’re praying together as children coming to a Father asking Him to build our lives and build His Church.