Articles
Pray Big
"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” (Eph. 3:14-21, NASB)
This is the climax to Paul’s argument in the first half of this letter. It is a prayer for spiritual strength and it mirrors the prayer for spiritual sight earlier in Ephesians 1:15-19. In rich language, Paul has unpacked the depths of God’s eternal plan to unite Jew and Gentile in one body through Christ, gracing all believers with his merciful love and forgiveness. Now, he prays for us to be strengthened by this knowledge of the immeasurable love of Christ, not merely in an academic sense but in a deeply intimate way.
Are you impressed with the power of this prayer? Do your prayers sound like this? Do they reflect Paul’s assurance to approach God with such deep and meaningful petitions? Do they show a concern for conviction and trust in the foundation of Christ’s love? Do they display an insatiable desire to know God and Christ more fully? To be honest, mine look rather pathetic in comparison; maybe yours do too. That is ok – praying like this is a result of years of growth and maturity.
But suppose you want to pray like this. Where would you begin? Here Paul models how and why we can pray big.
Just before penning this prayer Paul writes: “in [Christ] we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him” (Eph. 3:12). The word translated boldness means “outspokenness, frankness, plainness of speech; courage and fearlessness in the presence of one in authority.” Typically, you cannot just walk into the White House, knock on the door of the Oval Office, and expect to gain unrestricted access to the President – let alone to speak your mind so openly and personally as we may sometimes wish! Yet this is the kind of freedom we have to approach God our Father.
Sometimes we may feel insecure or hesitant about what we wish to say to God, uncertain that he really wants to hear us or fearful that he may reject us. In Christ, we can express our raw feelings, desires, and even failures with the assurance of our closest friend. We can pray big because God has already invited us into his presence through faith in Christ. He has granted us this access through the Holy Spirit himself (Eph. 2:18).
But what will we pray for? Notice, again, the focus of Paul’s petition. Reflect on the fact that he is not asking for material or earthly blessing. He is requesting spiritual strength from the Holy Spirit, for Christ to dwell in our hearts through faith, and that we may know the love of Christ.
What big requests have you made lately? A different job? A more reliable car? A spouse or a child? Financial stability in retirement? Complete healing of a chronic disease? Such things are not too unimportant to take to God (if we desire these, we should take them to God – see Matt. 6:11), but if our prayers are solely focused on this world and its temporary concerns can we really say we are seeking things above (Col. 3:1-2)? While these desires or challenges seem like the big” things now, from an eternal perspective they are very small. Ephesians is about focusing on the heavenly places, the blessings and treasures we have in the spiritual realm. Our prayers should reflect that. Pray bigger than this world. Focus on the spiritual growth you desire for you and your family. Pray for the church to be built up, locally and abroad. Pray for us to be rooted and grounded firmly in God’s love. Broaden your horizons to pray for the really big things!
Paul’s concluding words in the chapter show we can pray big because God is big. Characteristically, Paul heaps phrase upon phrase to emphasize God’s limitless glory and power to work on behalf of his people. He is able to do more than we ask or even think. Proof of this has already been laid out in God’s eternal plan of salvation. No human could even dream up such a thing, yet God planned it even before we existed. Is there anything God cannot do for his people if we ask according to his will, especially if it is for our spiritual and eternal good (Luke 11:13)?
We sometimes do not pray big because we impose our own human, finite limits on a divine, infinite God. But he is bigger than us. If we remembered this more often how would it change the way we pray?
Bottom line: Paul prayed big. Do not be afraid to pray just as big.
