Learning to Pray
January 30, 2009

“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." – Ephesians 3:14-19

What do you spend your time praying for? It is very easy to fall into the habit of praying almost exclusively for what you might call “tangibles”: money needs, health needs, job needs, etc. And all of those things are perfectly fine – when we have needs, we should pray about them.

But in this prayer found in Ephesians, we have a pointed reminder not to neglect praying for the “intangibles” as well. The spiritual side of things: strength for the inner person, the power of the Spirit, the indwelling of Christ, the growth of faith, the development of love, the understanding of God, the fullness of life.

It is these “intangibles” that ultimately matter the most in life – which is why you will find Paul recording prayers like this throughout the epistles. These are prayers for our character and innermost being; prayers for who we are at the core of our soul. It is prayers like this that have eternal impact on our lives and the lives of others.

• Pray the above prayer for yourself. Don’t rush: dwell on each phrase, and consider what it means to you personally, in your own life’s circumstances.
• Pray the above prayer for someone else whom you know. Again, dwell on each phrase, and prayerfully consider what it means to them as a unique individual.