PRAYER (part 1): What, Why, and How

Introduction

If you are a Christian-a follower of Jesus-then ministers and teachers undoubtedly taught you about prayer. Many people have written books and study guides to teach other people what prayer is, how to pray, what comprises prayer, and whose prayers God hears. This Bible study is an earnest seeking of everything the Bible says on prayer and praying-noun and verb. There are over 130 verses in the Bible about prayer, praying, calling out, supplicating, asking, petitioning, and requesting.

In this Bible study, I researched and found 132 verses that speak on this topic. Of the 132 verses studied, sixty-four related to four of the fifty-nine areas of prayer denoted within the verses. That means of the fifty-nine areas related to prayer, the Bible spoke of four areas in over half the verses. That is statistically significant.

Before getting to that discussion, let us understand what this study will show us. By studying the Bible, we find answers to the following questions on prayer and praying.

·         What is prayer?

·         What do we do when we pray?

·         How do we/are we supposed to pray?

·         What is expected of the pray-er?

·         When should we pray?

·         Should we expect God to answer prayer?

·         What happens when we pray?

The study of God’s Word-the Bible-is a discipline every Christian should follow. A person cannot grow in his or her relationship with God without knowing more of Him and striving to become more Christlike. The Bible teaches both these things. The people in the Bible understood what prayer is. Jesus Christ taught His disciples how to pray and modeled it regularly for them. If for no other reason, these should compel us to pray, too. Join with me in the first of a fifteen-part Bible study series on prayer as we learn what the Bible teaches on prayer and the person who prays–the pray-er.

What is Prayer?

The word “prayer,” according to 2 Samuel 7:27 (the first place in the New American Standard Bible to use the word “prayer”), comes from the Hebrew word tephillah and means prayer, to pray a prayer, hear prayer, and house of prayer[i]. In this passage, David talked with God about building His temple. God promised him his royal line would not vanish. Notice prayer is listening and speaking.

For a relationship to exist and grow, communication must occur. People of every era have known having a relationship with their god or with Yahweh, the One true God, requires praying to their god or God. For Abraham and his descendants-his blood descendants (the Israelites) and faith descendants (Christians)-praying was/is being in conversation with the One and only God, Yahweh.

Most people learn for communication to occur, each person involved in the conversation must listen and speak. If one side does all the talking, no true communication or growth of relationship occurs. The talkative person uses the other person as a sounding board only. With that in mind, for true communication to happen between a person/people and God, the person/people must listen to God and speak to Him.

From this understanding of communication, we know prayer is a person or group of people listening to and speaking with God–communicating and communing with Him. Before David’s prayer in 2 Samuel 7:27, other people spoke to God. Consider Moses at the burning bush or on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandment tablets from God. Besides this, consider Abraham when God spoke to him about being the father of many nations. Recall Samuel hearing and speaking to the LORD when he was a small boy working with Eli. These men spoke to God, and He spoke to them through the writers of these parts of the Bible did not use the word “prayer.” 

At other times in the Old Testament, the writers used specific words that describe how or what the person or people prayed–crying out, petitioning, thanking, etc. Other places in the Bible that refer to speaking with God through prayer are: first Kings 8:28, Job 16:17, Job 22:25-27, Psalm 18:6, Psalm 19:14, Jeremiah 7:16, Daniel 9:20, Luke 3:21, Acts 10:2 & 9, Acts 20:36, Ephesians 6:18, and 1 Timothy 2:8.

People throughout time prayed to God. They sometimes queried whether God listened to them when they prayed. God spoke of hearing the prayers of His people in Jeremiah 29:12. This verse is part of a covenant-a promise-He gave to His children, Israel, and to His adopted children through faith. Second Samuel 7:27 records David’s recognition that God heard his prayer relating to his desire to build His temple. Along with this verse, Daniel 2:23 and 9:20, and Acts 9:11 speak of God answering Daniel’s prayers and speaking to Ananias. Daniel requested God’s will concerning his circumstances. He gave him an answer. In the second reference, Daniel prayed to God and God sent His messenger, Gabriel, to help him. Ananias received word from God through a vision telling him to go to a blind Saul and restore his sight. Each of these show positive conversations from God. God often told His servants/prophets not to pray to Him for Israel (negative conversations) because He would not listen nor answer the prayers. Jeremiah 7:16 and 11:14 record these types of conversations.

One other point must be made about being in a vital relationship with God, a relationship where two-way communication occurs. God desires to be in a relationship with every person. This desire requires a person be cleansed from his or her sin by the sacrificial death of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. The relationship with God is so precious to Him that John recorded in Revelation 5:8 and 8:3 that the prayers of the saints (believers) are incense, a sweet and pleasant fragrance, to Him. Our relationship with God is sweet and pleasing to Him and blesses us. Prayer is not only important as a sounding board for us, but for developing a pleasant, harmonious, and blessed relationship with Yahweh, too.

What do We do when We Pray? 

Prayer is life-giving (vital) for our relationship with God. When we pray, we recognize God for Who He is–Creator, LORD, Provider, and Lover of our souls. He gave His own Son to die in our place so we could be saved and live forever with Him in heaven. When we relate to God positively, we realize God is greater than anything we can perceive and all we know. With that in mind, we understand why the Bible shows us how to relate to God and approach Him in prayer. We must recognize seven things relating to God and respond to Him with reverence so we do not abuse/misuse our relationship with Him. He is God and we are just part of His creations.

David expressed in six of his psalms and in 2 Samuel who God is. His writings teach us today how to approach God in prayer. To approach God in prayer, we must recognize these things regarding God.

Ø  Recognize God is to be Revered – 2 Samuel 7:27

Ø  Recognize God’s Mercy – Psalm 4:1

Ø  Recognize God Exists – Psalm 65:2

Ø  Recognize God’s Power – Psalm 65:2

Ø  Recognize God’s Faithfulness – Psalm 143:1

Ø  Recognize God’s Righteousness – Psalm 143:1.

Other Bible writers such as Luke, Paul, and Job recognized some of these same things in relation to God and approaching Him in prayer. Consider the following verses–

·         Acts 10:2, 1 Corinthians 11:4 (revere God)

·         Job 22:25-27 (recognize God’s power)

Besides remembering these six aspects of God when approaching God in prayer, Solomon, Nehemiah, Daniel, Luke, and James spoke of another thing to recognize or do when praying to God. They said to recognize God lives in heaven, so pray towards there. Recognize God is greater than themselves-is eternal and all-powerful-so keep focused heavenward–keep focused on God. First Kings 8:28, Nehemiah 1:6, Daniel 9:20, Acts 8:22, and James 5:16 teach this.

The final thing spoken concerning what we do when we pray comes from Acts 20:36 and Colossians 4:3. Luke and Paul taught our prayers are to give testimony of God. This testimony comes from the previous seven things listed and from what God has done for you. If your prayer is not a testimony of who God is and what He has done for you, then your prayers are just a laundry list of “gimmes,” like a child’s Christmas wish list. If a “gimme” list describes your prayers, then your prayers-your supposed two-way conversation with God-are not effective. Your relationship with Him is not vibrant and growing. How should we pray then?

How Should We Pray to God?

When I was a child, my Sunday School teacher taught me to pray to Jesus for other people and myself. As a teenager, a minister taught more on prayer. He said prayers to God should include the words of the acronym A.C.T.S.–Adoration, Confession, Thanks, and Supplication. Considering the latter, I find it interesting the Bible records more concerning petitioning God for one’s self and others than any other part of A.C.T.S. I believe this occurs because people throughout time realized their need for God to provide for them and intervene for them where they lived. Most people approach God when his or her body or life is under threat. Do we forget Him at other times and only realize our need for Him in our lives when we face dire days? We see this truth for many of God’s children. Yet for those who strive to have a growing faith and relationship with God, prayer is more than an SOS. It concerns relationship. Let us consider how we pray to God.

Petition for Self

Both the Old and New Testaments record people praying to God as petitioning Him to help them. Authors of books in the Bible recorded twenty-four times when people petitioned God to help themselves. The New Testament records these prayers of petition nine times. Consider these verses:

·         Judges 15:18,

·         2 Samuel 7:27

·         1 Kings 8:28, 8:38

·         Nehemiah 4:9

·         Job 21:15

·         Psalm 5:2, 18:6, 35:13, 66:17

·         Jeremiah 29:12

·         Daniel 2:23, 9:20

·         Matthew 7:11

·         Mark 11:24

·         Luke 11:13, 21:36

·         John 16:26

·         Acts 7:59, 8:24

·         Philippians 4:6

·         1 Thessalonians 3:10

·         2 Thessalonians 3:1

·         James 1:5-7, 4:2

·         1 John 5:14-15

Besides these verses, which in specific mention “praying for” or “petitioning” the Lord for one’s self, other verses record people “crying out to” or “pleading for” the Lord’s help in their plight. These verses include 1 Kings 8:45; Psalms 4:1, 17:1, 35:13, 66:17, 88:2, 118:5, and 143:1; and Lamentations 3:8.

Petition for Others

As mentioned in an earlier paragraph, petitioning to God for other people occurred often in the Bible. Petitioning God for other people occurred at least twenty-three times in the Bible. Sometimes petitioning to God for self occurred at the same time as petitioning for others. The verses that record these prayers are–

·         1 Samuel 7:5, 12:19

·         1 Kings 8:28

·         Job 42:8

·         Jeremiah 7:16, 11:14, 14:22

·         Daniel 9:20

·         Luke 22:32

·         Acts 13:3

·         2 Corinthians 1:11

·         Philippians 1:19, 4:6

·         Ephesians 6:18

·         Colossians 1:9, 4:3

·         1 Thessalonians 3:10, 5:25

·         2 Thessalonians 3:1

·         1 Timothy 2:1-2

·         Hebrews 13:18

·         James 5:16

When people petition for other people, they care enough for the other person to intervene for them to God asking His help or protection for the person. Notice, when we pray to God as part of a growing relationship with Him, we do it because of love for Him. When we pray for other people, we do it because of our care/love for those people. This shows we follow what God taught in the Old Testament with the Ten Commandments–love God and love other people. It shows, too, what Jesus taught with the Greatest Commandment–love God and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40). Jesus taught His follower to go a step further than this with His next teaching.

Pray for Persecutors

Jesus in the New Testament taught what God taught in the Old Testament, but He took it a step further. He taught the people that the neighbor they were to love might be their enemy. Jesus taught His followers to love their enemies and pray for them, even those who persecute them (Matthew 5:44). To love and pray for their enemies, Christians must be in a growing relationship with God. They must become more Christlike. By becoming more Christlike, the love of God for their enemy grows in the Christian. From that growth of love, the believer can love and pray for his/her enemies. By loving and praying for one’s enemies, the believer will be like Jesus when He loved and prayed for those who persecuted Him.  

A.C.T.S.

You may ask, “What happened to A.C.T.S.?” The Bible writers wrote so much regarding petitioning God and asking Him to help that it appears adoration, confession, and thanks are unimportant. That is not true though. Remember, in communication we ask for people to help us, and encourage them, thank them, and often confess sins/faults to them. These must be part of our conversations with God, too. They are more important with our conversations with God than with people. 

Confession

When we sin, we sin against God. Remember, sinning separates us from God because He cannot be in the presence of sin since He is holy. We must be made holy again and so must confess our sin to Him and ask for His forgiveness. This will keep our relationship with Him unstrained. God is holy and all-powerful. That means He is merciful and cleanses sin from us when we confess and ask for His forgiveness. David, Nehemiah, Daniel, Luke, James, and John each speak on this in these verses–

·         1 Kings 8:28

·         Nehemiah 1:6

·         Psalm 42:8

·         Daniel 9:20

·         Acts 8:22

·         James 5:16

·         Revelations 5:8

Thanksgiving

Throughout the Bible, the authors of individual books and Jesus taught prayer includes thanks to God, too. To be in a growing and strong relationship, communication must include thanking the person for caring, helping, and praying for you. A relationship with God through Jesus Christ should include thanks to Him, too. God does and has done many things for us over the years as individuals and as a group from the beginning of time.

David spoke in his prayer that only those who lived with God could thank Him (Psalm 6:5). Daniel thanked God for giving him power and wisdom (Daniel 2:23). Jesus thanked His Father for the fish and bread to feed the 5000 people (Luke 9:16-17). Paul taught people to thank God for what He would do in answer to their prayers (Philippians 4:6). He told them to devote themselves to prayer and thanksgiving to God, too (Colossians 4:2). Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 each Christian should pray and petition God for people in authority and give thanks for those leaders. Finally, in 1 Thessalonians 6:16-18, he told the people of Thessalonika to give thanks in everything. As seen, thanks to God should be part of every prayer. Believers must thank Him for what He has done and will do in their lives and the lives of other people for whom they pray.  

Adoration

Praising and exalting God is adoration. God deserves praise because He is omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (all places at once), and because He is the One true God. David, Daniel, Paul, James, and Luke praised God and taught other followers of Jesus to adore (praise and exalt) Him.

David called God His Rock and Redeemer. He was the strength upon whom David could rely (Psalm 19:14). He said God was merciful (loving-kindness) in Psalm 66:20. David called God his King and extolled (praised and exalted) Him (Psalm 5:2 & 66:17). Daniel recalled his ancestors followed Yahweh God, and He carried them. He said God gave him wisdom and power (Daniel 2:23). Paul and Silas gave testimony of God’s greatness and love while they were in prison (Acts 20:26). Paul taught believers to rejoice always because the Lord was their God. He aligned this with thanking Him in all circumstances and praying continually (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). James taught people to pray with cheerful songs to God. John saw people bowing before the Lamb in a vision while on Patmos (Revelation 5:8).

Adoration-praise and exaltation-is a form of prayer/song to and about God. Adoration differs from thanks because it does not necessarily refer to what God has done, but always to who God is. We praise God because He is greater than anything life can throw at us and we know God conquers all things. We can have hope amid trying times because we know we will be in heaven with Him one day. Knowing God as our Lord, Redeemer, Creator, Protector, and Provider gives us joy and hope that should flow back to Him as praise and exaltation–adoration. Adoration and thanks to God come out of our love as believers for Him.

Recap

In this lesson, we learned that prayer is communicating and communing with God, which requires speaking to Him and listening to what He says. For communication to be effective and growing, it must be two-way. God listens to our prayers and responds to them as David and Daniel found out. He is faithful to His children even if they are unfaithful to Him.

In the second part of this lesson, we learned we have to recognize God for who He is and approach Him with reverence. We must recognize His mercy, existence, power, faithfulness, righteousness, and that He rules over all from heaven. Besides this, when we pray and revere God, we give a testimony about God through our prayers. Paul and Silas did this while in prison.

The final part of this lesson taught us how to pray. Whether using the acronym of A.C.T.S. or remembering the specific parts from the Bible verses above, we must remember prayer–communication/communion with God–includes each aspect as seen in the teachings of Jesus, the apostles, and other Bible writers. Besides this, for our prayers to be genuine-providing a growing relationship with God and a growing Christlikeness-we should praise and exalt God, confess and ask forgiveness, thank Him, and petition for ourselves and other people, including our leaders and enemies. By offering prayers in each of these areas, we show love for other people and for God. We will have a continual growing relationship with God for which He provided salvation for every person.

Relevance and Conclusion

How active and vibrant is your prayer life? Do you only go to God when you need help or want something? Is He your super-Santa? That should not be.

If you are a Christian, you should continue to grow in your relationship with God. This relationship occurs because He provided the cleansing from our sins that separated us from Him through the blood of His only Son, Jesus Christ, who died for each person’s sin penalty. If you pray regularly, do you remember to adore, praise, and exalt Him? Do you thank Him daily? Often, we have our needs supplied and we do not give a thought that God’s faithfulness to us provided what we needed before we asked. Consider the bed you slept on last night. You probably bought or received it years ago, but forget to thank Him for it and praise Him each day for knowing in advance just what you needed before you did. That is God’s omniscience. That is God’s faithful love to you, too.

Do you ask God to help you see your sins of the day so you can confess them and ask for forgiveness from Him? God’s righteousness means He cannot be in the presence of sin, in your unrepentant presence. His righteousness has a flip side, like a coin. Because He is righteous, He must bring judgment for sin, yet because of His mercy and loving-kindness, He provided the penalty-bearer (Jesus Christ) before your birth and later sins. This action for you means He genuinely wants to be in a relationship with you. Have you confessed your sin today so God can give you His love and mercy today?

Praying for things is as natural as breathing to most of us. Want, need, and desire remind us to pray for our circumstances and our selves. Praying for other people is not as easy to remember. Just as we breathe and petition God for ourselves, we should petition for other people, including our enemies.

What is prayer? It involves and affects our relationship with God. Prayer is two-way communication with God that brings growth in our relationship with Him and in our Christlikeness. It produces Christian virtues and leads us closer to Him and closer to perfection through salvation in Christ.

It is time to reflect upon ourselves. What are our questions today?

v  Do you pray each day?

v  Do you recognize God for who He is and revere Him?

v  Are you in a growing relationship with the Lord so you do not have a Christmas wish list, but love and effective communication?

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[i] Brown, Driver, Bringgs, and Gesenius. “Hebrew Lexicon entry for Tephillah.” “The NAS Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon.” (http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/hebrew/nas/tephillah.html). 

Living Enriched Lives

In 1 Corinthians 1:4-8, Paul began his encouragement and entreaty to the Corinthian Christians. He began his letter reminding them of the most important thing – God’s grace is all-sufficient. In these five verses, Paul taught very succinctly the four most important things about God’s grace. Most importantly, he said, God’s grace enriches believers’ lives. We today can and need to learn and hold on to this teaching.

First, remember God’s grace is His loving-kindness and mercy given to a person without him or her deserving it. His grace is more than this though. One Corinthians 1:4-8 is where Paul unpacked it for the Corinthian believers. 

God’s grace enriches a believer’s life in his or her speech and knowledge. He fully enriches every believer in all ways so the believer’s words, speech, declarations, thoughts, meditations, reasoning, intelligence, understanding of God and the Christian faith are deeper, more perfect, and enlarged. The understanding by the believer of God and the Christian faith is so enriched and illuminated he or she explains his or her faith with power.

God’s grace acts in a believer’s life so it is visible. His grace enriching the believer’s knowledge and understanding of Him and the Christian faith spoken and testified with power and conviction leads to the believer’s life confirming his or her testimony of his or her faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in God came from His gift and gave His undeserved grace to the believer. That grace then makes itself evident in the gift of knowledge, understanding, and speech of the believer when he or she that testifies of God and the Christian faith

In addition to these, Paul stated God’s grace gives and shows in the believer’s expectant, eager, and watchful hope for the return of Jesus Christ. God’s grace, which provides salvation and adoption, gives hope for the future expected return of Jesus the Christ, a time when all things on earth return to perfection. His grace affects the mind of the believer, affects the believer’s thinking and hope for present and future times. Living with this evident hope testifies to God’s grace.

Finally, Paul said, God’s grace confirms the believer to the end so he or she is blameless and innocent before God. God’s grace given through the blood of Jesus Christ establishes and makes sure the believer is blameless of sin on the day of judgment and for eternity. His grace seals the believer for eternity.

This statement by Paul seems so small when considered in the totality of his writings, yet it is profound though concise. God’s grace enriches a believer’s life in speech, knowledge and insight so he or she lacks no gift from God. The conviction of this faith and the depth of knowledge and illumination manifests itself in the believer’s life and words to confirm his or her testimony of believing in Jesus Christ. God’s grace gives and shows in the believer’s expectant, eager, and watchful hope for the return of Jesus Christ. Finally, it confirms the believer to the end so he or she is blameless before God.

Have you experienced God’s grace?

Is your life a living testimony to God’s grace?

Like the Corinthian Christians who were divided into factions, we need to remember we must choose to live the life God’s grace put into us so our words and actions show His grace to the world as a testimony so others will want to come to know Jesus Christ, too.

More Than Created - Adopted Ephesians 1

Ephesians 1

            A few weeks ago, the church I attend began a forty-day study of the book of Ephesians. I have not been able to attend any of the studies so am studying on my own. I remember years ago studying the New Testament in seminary and am eager to learn afresh what God wants to tell me.

            As I began this study, I remembered that Paul’s letters begin with a greeting and introduction as to who he was. They often contain a preamble that lets you know on what he planned to teach. The book of Ephesians follows that same pattern, but I found or re-learned something in my current study. Chapter one includes a section on what God has done for the Ephesian church and a prayer from Paul for them. If you have not read Ephesians chapter one recently, I encourage you to do that now before you continue this study.

            As quick lists, here are the things Paul said God did and things for which Paul prayed for the Ephesian Christians and faithful followers of Christ.

            What God Did:

1. He chose us before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless. (vs. 4)
2. He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters. (vs. 5)
3. He freely bestowed His grace on us. (vs. 6)
4. He gave us redemption through Christ’s blood. (vs. 7)
5. He gave us forgiveness of sin because of His grace. (vs. 7)
6. He lavished His grace upon us. (vs. 8)
7. He made known to us the mystery of His will because of His kindness. (vs. 9)
8. He summed up all things on Christ on earth and in heaven. (vs. 10)
9. He gave us an inheritance because He predestined it based on His wisdom.(vs. 11)
10. Because He gave us this inheritance through His grace, we are for the praise of His glory. (vs. 12)
11. He sealed us with His Holy Spirit. (vs. 13)
12. He gave the Holy Spirit as a pledge of our inheritance because we believed and redeemed. (vs. 14)

What Paul Prayed (for the faithful)

1. That God would give wisdom, revelation, and knowledge in recognizing Him. (vs. 17)
2. That God will enlighten the eyes of our heart to know the hope of His calling, the riches of the glory of His inheritance. (vs.18)
3. That God will give us the surpassing knowledge of the greatness of His power towards us with the working strength of His might. (vs. 19)
4. That we will know these occurred in accordance with the working of the strength of His might, which He brought about in Christ when He (vs. 19-20)
   1. raised Him from the dead (vs. 20)
   2. seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places (vs. 20)
   3. far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named (vs. 21)
   4. to change this age and also the one to come. (vs. 21)
   5. He put all things in subjection under His feet (vs. 22)
   6. And gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (vs. 22-23)

            From the first section under “What God has done for His children,” verse 3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” As I read this, I wondered what the spiritual blessings were to which Paul referred. I can think of many things God has done, but what is a spiritual blessing? This led me to a discovery. Paul outlined these blessings in the eleven subsequent verses. Each of these blessings are God’s actions and thoughts toward us; we did nothing to get them.

In verse four we find that God chose us before He created humankind and the world, to be holy and blameless before Him. He chose to have an eternal relationship with us; that is why He created us. He created us for relationship. When Adam and Eve sinned against God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they broke relationship with Him because He, in His holiness and purity, cannot be in the presence of evil. Yet, we learn from this verse, God chose us to be holy and blameless so He had a plan to renew our relationship with Him. Paul expands this teaching further in chapter two, especially in verse ten.

            Verses five through six carry on from this. Verse five says, “He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.” This affirms again that God chose us, He predestined that we would be His children one way or the other. God’s plans cannot be thwarted by humankind. God planned from the foundation of the world our adoption as His children. Paul began in the verse to explain how God planned to adopt us to bring us back into relationship with Him. He gave us a glimmer of what he spoke and developed later in his letter to the Ephesians. God, through Jesus Christ and because of the kind intentions of His will, provided a way for us to be cleansed from the darkness of our sin. This adoption and kindness of God comes from God’s grace. Grace is defined as God’s riches at Christ’s expense. We receive God’s riches, an inheritance, at because of Christ’s death as our substitute. Paul and all followers of Christ praise God because of His grace, which He freely gave us. We do not deserve this great kindness and love of God to remove our sins at the expense of the life of His Son. Nothing we can do makes us worthy of this grace from Holy God. Paul developed this teaching further in Ephesians 2.

Paul added more in this first chapter. He stated, “In Him (Jesus Christ) we have redemption (our death penalty redeemed by the death of a substitute) through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.” Because Jesus in His gracious love for us chose to die as a substitute for our death, which our sinfulness required, we can be made pure, one hundred percent clean from our sins. God’s forgiveness comes to us through Jesus’ death, His blood poured out instead of ours. This redemption and forgiveness is because of God’s great grace, His insurmountable and unlimited kindness and love. Paul used a word that describes the limitlessness of God’s grace. He said God “lavished” His grace upon us. Lavished means to be over and above measuring, to be abundantly overflowing. Paul talked more about the limitless grace and love of God in chapter three. He said he wants us to grasp how high and wide and deep is the “love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge so that we may be filled up to all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:18-19).

God, in wisdom and insight, “made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention” according to Paul in verse nine. Paul spoke more on this mystery in Ephesians 3, but summed up for us here what God’s will is – to bring all humankind back into a relationship with Him through the death, resurrection, and reign of Jesus Christ. God provided for us this way back to Him because of His love. He made it known to us because of His kindness and love. What good is a plan for others if they do not realize a plan was made for them. Paul continued to summarize God’s mystery by stating that all things on heaven and earth will be in subjection to Christ at the fullness of time, when He returns to earth. Then the kingdom of God will reign forever. Christ’s death was not just for us to experience now as a once off cleansing. His death and resurrection occurred so that we could have eternal life with Him when all things are under His gracious and wise authority and dominion.

Paul stated in verses eleven and twelve, “In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.” He reiterated it again for emphasis. God adopted us and they will receive a full inheritance with His Son as children of God. The inheritance we receive is eternal life with an unbroken relationship with the Father. This idea was not a backup plan after Adam, Eve, and humankind sinned. God foreknew humankind would sin. He predestined a plan for our salvation because of His love for us out of His unlimited mercy and kindness. Because we asked for forgiveness and accepted His love, He made us His children. We get to praise His glory – His excellence, magnificence, and majesty. Our word “doxology” comes from this Greek word translated as “glory.” We praise God for who He is and what He has done.

Paul said, in verses thirteen and fourteen, God sealed us in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise. He gave us the Holy Spirit in our hearts “as a pledge of our inheritance,” our redemption and eternal life with Him, “to the praise of His glory.” Paul preached this in His letter to the Ephesians. He praised God and taught the Ephesian Christians to praise God for what He did for them. The Holy Spirit is our pledge from God of our inheritance as His children. The Holy Spirit is not just our guide, comforter, and teacher, but is our pledge from God. How great is that?

To sum up God’s spiritual blessings for the Ephesian Christians according to Paul, God adopted them. We must be more specific though. God chose them before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless. He predestined them to be adopted as His children through Jesus Christ because of His kindness. God bestowed His grace freely on them. He redeemed them from their merited death by Jesus’ substituted death. God forgave them of their sins because of His grace. He lavished His grace on them. He made known the mystery of His will to them. God gave all things to the authority and dominion of Christ on earth and in heaven. He gave them hope in Christ. God gave them the pledge of His Holy Spirit as a sign of their inheritance. The Ephesian Christians and we did not do anything to acquire salvation and adoption. God did it all.

The second section of this opening chapter of Ephesians is Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian Christians. Keep aware as you will notice overlapping between this prayer and God’s spiritual blessings of His children. Paul prayed for the Ephesian Christians giving thanks for them and asking God to give them certain things. First, Paul asked God to give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. This means that Paul asked God to give them His knowledge in truth and instruction, which they did not have before they became Christians. He asked that God give the Ephesian Christians knowledge and practice for godly living and for teaching Christian truth to other people.

Second, Paul prayed that their hearts would be enlightened so that they would know three things – 1) what is the hope of His calling (vs. 18), 2) what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints (vs. 18), and 3) what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward those who believe (vs. 19a). Paul asked that they would be illumined or instructed because they are now of the household of God regarding what is their joyful expectation of eternal life. This is the hope that Christ gives to Christians, joyful expectation of eternal life. Nothing can take it away from believers. Paul developed this in Ephesians 4. He asked God to guide them to understand the “riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” He wanted them to realize the abundance from God’s grace of blessedness from having the promise that Christians will be with Christ in heaven. “Inheritance” in the Greek New Testament is kleronomia. Kleronomia is the eternal blessedness of the kingdom of God which occurs after Christ’s second coming, which adopted children of God will have for eternity. Christian riches come from our inheritance in Christ’s kingdom. The third thing for which Paul prayed for the Ephesian Christians was that they would know the exceedingly abundant greatness of God’s power toward those who believe. God does not just save them for that time; He saved them for eternity. His power is greater than anything that attempts to hold you back. This is what Paul stated in Romans 8:37, “But in all things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” The word used for “power” in verse nineteen is dunamis. We get our word dynamite from this word. It means strength and power; the ability to do something with great power. God having power is a great thing to know. What use is power, though, if not applied for something or someone. Here, in this verse, Paul stated God used this exceedingly great power toward those who believe. He saved them by His great love for them and He kept them safe by His great power. No one can ever snatch them from God’s hands. Read Romans 8:31-39 for more on this.

Paul continued in verse nineteen by stating that these three things are according to the working of God’s great power. The Greek word translated as “working” is energeia and is used only of superhuman strength in the New Testament. God’s power is greater than any person’s. This power is that which God brought about in Christ when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heaven. God exercised this power in Christ toward us who believe so that we could always have the hope of eternal life with Him. Paul developed this more in Ephesians 3:7 and 6:10.

The place of honor God the Father gave Christ by seating Him at his right hand in heaven shows the Son is a part of the Godhead and that He has all authority and power. Paul named those people and beings over whom Christ ruled. Christ reigns over all rule/rulers. “Rule” is the Greek word arche and means leader or magistracy. Christ reigns over all authority (exousia). Exousia means the command and power of created beings under which others must submit themselves. Christ reigns over all powers and dominions. “Power” is dunamis, which means the power which a person or things exerts and puts forth. “Dominion” is kuriotes, which includes the power of lords, rulers, and kings. Jesus reigns over all created beings who reign - human, angelic, and Satanic. Jesus’ power is greater than every being or thing, even death, because He is part of the Godhead. Paul further stated that Jesus Christ’s name is over every name that is named for all ages (aion – a perpetuity of time).

The Father gave the Son power over all things and beings. He put them in subjection under His feet, too (vs. 22). They do not have power over Christ. They must obey Him. The Father made Christ the head over all things to the Church. Jesus Christ is the foundation and the head of the Church. Paul said this in Colossians 1:18 and in Ephesians 4. In verse twenty-three, Paul spoke of “the fullness of Him.” By this he meant, the Church is the body of Christ. “Fullness” in the original Greek comes from the word pleroma meaning the body of believers who are filled to completeness with and by Christ’s presence, power, and riches. “All in all” in this verse means that Christ has redeemed some of all sorts; He does not restrict His redemption to just one kind of person. Christ redeems Jew and Greek, rich and poor, slave and free, which Paul explained in Galatians 3:28 and Colossians 3:11. Hence, verses twenty-two and twenty-three can be stated like this: “And God put all things in subjection under Christ’s feet and gave Him as the head over the Church, which is His body, who are filled to completeness with and by Christ’s presence, power, and riches and which Church is made up of people from all walks of life.”

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian Christians included that they would recognize and come to know Christ with a deep knowledge that led to godly living and Christian teaching. He prayed they would be enlightened and would know the hope of His calling, “the riches of the glory of His inheritance,” and the exceeding greatness of His power for and toward them. Paul prayed they would understand and know it was in accordance with the superhuman energy used of the strength of God’s might that raised Christ from the dead, seated Him at His right hand, and gave Him power over all things in heaven and earth. Paul prayed that the Ephesian Christians would know Jesus as the head of the body of Christ, the church, and would grow stronger in the knowledge of His presence, power, and riches.

After studying this, two questions arise. Do I show in my life what God has done? Can I say that Paul was praying these things over me? Paul wrote these things to the Ephesian Christians. Do they apply to every Christian? When I re-read the opening of the letter, I noticed in verse one that Paul addressed the letter “to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus” [NASB]. I wondered if other English versions of the Bible translated it this way. I discovered most translations do state it in this way. Yet I found two that do not, Young’s Literal Translation and the Duoay-Rheims Bibles. The first was translated in 1898 by a Scottish Presbyterian who was fluent in several languages and was a printer. The latter in 1899 from the Latin Vulgate by the Catholic Church. This difference in translations piqued my interest so I had my scholar husband translate it from the Greek Bible. He translated it as follows: “Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ through God, to saints to the ones which are in Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.” Paul addressed the letter to the saints in Ephesians and to all faithful followers of Christ. He wrote the letter to all Christians “not only in this age, but also in the one to come” (Eph. 1:21). This means that God did these things for me. He chose me before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless. God predestined me to be adopted by Him according to His kindness and grace. He freely bestowed His grace on me and gave me redemption through the death of Christ. Through Christ’s death I have forgiveness of my sins. God made sure I knew the mystery of His will - He sent His Son to die for my sins so I would not die eternally. He gave me an inheritance because of His plan and for His purpose, so that I could have eternal life with Him and praise Him. God sealed me with His Holy Spirit who He gave as a pledge of my inheritance because He redeemed me for His own, for which all praise goes to Him. If God did this for me, He did it for all other faithful followers/Christians.

Questions arise now because of this. Am I living as if God has done these magnificent things for me and in me? Can anyone see in my words and actions God’s grace and call upon me? If Paul meant his words for all Christians/faithful followers of Christ, what does this mean for you? Are you living in a way that people watching you realize you are a child of God, one who inherits redemption and eternal life from Him?

Paul often began his letters by stating what he would teach the recipients. His prayer in Ephesians 1 tells us what Paul would be teaching the Ephesians. Paul did not aim to teach only the Ephesian Christians. He purposely set out to teach every Christian who read his letter or heard his letter read. Paul had a purpose in this letter. He wanted to correct false teaching, impart knowledge and wisdom (Christian truth), remind them of their inheritance and hope of glory, try to express the exceedingly great power and might of the Father and Son, the purpose of Christ’s death and resurrection, and the structure and building of the Church/body of Christ. This is what Paul prayed for the saints and faithful followers to receive from God. He recognized their weaknesses as Christians and wanted God to make them stronger. This recognition is what he prayed for them, wrote to them, and taught them. They needed more teaching regarding what the Father and Son did for humankind. Paul recognized this was a need for them and for faithful followers through the ages.

My questions returned repeatedly this week. I must consider if I am a weak Christian like some of the Ephesians. Am able to be mislead by false teachings? Am I growing in Christ, who is supposed to be my Head? Am I helping to build up the church? Am I holding on to the hope of my salvation? Am I willing to take steps of faith into areas that are outside of my comfort zone knowing my salvation is secure, that nothing can take me out of God’s hands? These are not easy questions with which to probe yourself. They can be painful.

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you must do this probing, too. Are you growing in your relationship with Christ? Are you reading God’s Word and studying it? Are you sure of your salvation and holding onto the hope of glory so that no matter what, you understand you are in God’s hands? Are you willing to take steps of faith from where you are comfortable? Have you considered that your growth or lack is what contributes to the stability of the growth of the church?

These are not easy questions to apply to your life. They were not easy for me either. Paul wrote to all Christians. What God did through His Son, Jesus Christ, applies to each of us.

If you are not a Christian, you have a decision to make.

Will you chose to recognize and follow the God who chose you and predestined you to be His adopted child?

If you are a Christian,

Are you growing in your relationship with God?

Can people see from your words and actions that you are a follower of Christ?

Begin there,

at the heart,

and let God’s words through Paul lead you to a closer relationship with Him.

It starts with a first step:

Will you accept God’s grace and give Him your life?