Title: Paul's Prayer (Ephesians 01:15-23)
Content Prayer is giving thanks before asking for anything.
The apostle Paul shows the essence of prayer when he says in verse 16, “I do not cease to give thanks for you, and when I pray I speak of you.” Prayer without thanksgiving cannot be called prayer in a strict sense.
Therefore, it can be said that the characteristic of believers is a life of gratitude.
1. Acknowledgments
“For this reason, I also heard your faith in the Lord Jesus and the people toward all the saints” (Ephesians 1:15). The faith and love of the Ephesian church members were the things Paul was thankful for. We must remember the order of faith and love here.
Faith always comes first, then love.
This order has important implications.
Faith doesn't come automatically. It is the Holy Spirit that must be sown in our hearts.
It is love that comes out of this belief.
But sometimes we can see faith without love.
That belief is dead faith.
Simply put, a faith tree that does not bear the fruit of love is a dead tree, a faith tree that does not produce faith is a dead tree, and love without faith is like a tree branch that has been cut and has no life.
“As the body without the soul is dead, so faith without works is dead” (James 2:26).
Therefore, if we say that we have faith but our hearts do not have love, that faith is dead.
The apostle Paul began prayer with thanksgiving.
Gratitude is the beginning of prayer.
2, content of prayer
In the book of Ephesians, Paul's prayer is recorded in chapters 1 and 3.
In chapter 1, he prayed for wisdom, saying, “I pray that you may know it.” In chapter 3, he prayed for power, saying, “I want to be with you.
We must learn the important truth of prayer here.
In other words, when we pray, we should ask for wisdom and then for power.
The Apostle Paul first prayed to get to know God.
What kind of God do we believe in? He is an omniscient God who knows everything. He is the God who knows our troubles, mistakes, and even our desire to do well.
There are no good people in this world, but only God is good.
As a God of love, He loved us by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to save us, and even dying for us (Romans 5:8)
That God is a holy God, who is set apart from all things.
Also, as a just God, He is a God who always judges sin.
What we need to remember is that God is both a God of love and a God of justice.
Next, the Apostle Paul prayed that we might know what the hope of the calling and the riches of the inheritance are.
Humans have three types of eyes. First of all, it is the physical eyes, which can only see nature.
Humans also have academic eyes, or eyes of reason. Through this, thinking and learning are learned.
However, you can only see the world with your carnal or academic eyes.
Going one step further, humans have the eyes of the soul and the eyes of the heart. To know the world of truth and the world of spirit, the eyes of the heart must be opened.
In the beginning, Adam and Eve's eyes were bright and they could see everything, but now they can't see very well.
You can realize the precious truth of God by being able to see the spiritual world.
After your eyes are opened, you will know what the hope of your calling is. The object of hope is Jesus Christ.
There are general and special callings.
The general calling is, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden."
You shouldn't just have this. We have a special calling, which is called an effective calling, or an effective calling.
Only by receiving this can we become children of God.
The Apostle Paul prayed for the third time that we might know how great God's power is.
There are three types of religions in this world.
The first is that it is a self-reliance religion that can be saved through human strength. It is through doing good and living a righteous life.
Second, as a humanistic religion, salvation is achieved when the power of man and God are united.
Third, as a different religion, human beings are incapable of doing anything, and they are saved by God's holding on to them.
According to other religions, salvation is a product of grace and never the result of good works.
Christianity is a different religion that believes that we are saved by the power God gives us. What we come to believe is the result of "working in the mighty power of God's power."
Simply put, it is because God has given us grace and has planted the seed of faith in our hearts.
3, the right church view
“And he put all things under his feet, and gave him head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:22,23).
The text refers to the correct view of the church.
Jesus Christ is the head of the church, and we are its members.
In other words, Jesus is the moderator of our church.
Jesus is the One who fills all things, and He uses the church and the saints as instruments to fill all things.
Therefore, we must be a source of blessing.
It should be a tool to convey blessings.