Ephesians 3:14–21
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
In the middle of a letter to his long-time friends in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul colors in the lines of his imprisonment for the Gospel with this beautiful prayer. He wants his friends to see that their participation in the good news of Jesus (as Gentiles) is only the beginning of their experience with Jesus. While they first needed others (like Paul) to explain how they belonged to God through Christ, he prays that they will grow to be catalysts of God’s love themselves. He prays they would be more than part of the Church - he prays they would be the active Church.
- Pray for any new believers you know, using the words of this passage.
- Pray for Calvary Church, that we would be strengthened to the point we know God’s love deeply.
- Pray for friends and family who do not yet know Jesus, that the good news might welcome them into the footsteps of faith.
Colossians 1:3–14
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. …
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Paul writes to a gathering of believers he has yet to meet - the church at Colossae. It’s easy to see his desire - that they would know Jesus and make him known. And it is also easy to see his hope - that God would continue to deepen the faith he imparted.
- Pray for our mission partners around the world. (website) Praying for believers you or I have yet to meet is one way to participate in all that God is doing around the world.
- Pray for Calvary Church, that we would be an encouragement to believers in the St Charles County area, through a commitment to the Kingdom of Jesus.
- Pray personally to be passionate about Jesus being known, and excited when faith grows.
Jude 24–25
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
- Thank Jesus for his ability to keep us in his Kingdom.
- Thank Jesus for your community - who He uses to shape your life in His grace.
- Thank Jesus for your change - ways you have become more like Him.