My challenge to pray this simple prayer for God to do his work

By Dean Collins

Maybe you like a good mystery: a novel or a work problem, a situation in your community or a question about your family. But the mystery I’m thinking about today is different than any of these.

The apostle Paul used the word mystery 21 times in his writings. Six of these are in his letter to the Ephesians. In Chapter 3 Paul reveals what was not fully understood by Jews or Gentiles. But we have a significant advantage over the first readers of Ephesians because we’ve known the solution to this mystery for a long time. In fact, we are recipients of this good news. Christ died for all people, both those who are of Jewish descent and those who aren’t. Paul spends much of his letter to the Ephesians explaining how we are no longer people separated by a dividing wall of hostility but rather a united people called to share the love of Christ with the world.

Wall of hostility

Paul carefully walks us through the separation we had before Christ came for us. He describes the wall of hostility separating us from God and from each other, a wall Jesus abolished on the cross. The hostility is real, and while we have the answer that breaks down all the barriers that separate us, many still hide behind the wall; many remain unwilling to accept or embrace the truth of Jesus and experience the love and unity possible here and now as well as in eternity.

Fulness of God

In the middle of Paul’s explanation, he does something that would probably help all of us. He pauses to pray that God would fully dwell in each of us. Imagine what might happen in relationships, in sermons, in conflicts, in families, frankly everywhere, if we paused in the middle of whatever and prayed among other things Paul mentioned that “we would be grounded and rooted in love…and filled with all the fullness of God.”

Not to be overly simplistic, could this prayer, along with the prayer Jesus taught us, be foundational to changing the dynamics of our relationships? If each of us prayed this prayer for those around us, would God change us? Not just change them but change us. I imagine by now you and I have realized that those around us are not the only ones who need to make changes.

Word of praise

Whatever side you take on the various issues of the day, whatever amount of energy you spend on arguing your side of an issue, what if you spent at least a few minutes each day thinking about and praying about what God has offered as our great solution to the problems of humanity? Maybe I am being too simplistic. But what if I’m not? Paul ended his prayer with a powerful word of praise:

“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 our current moment, I think I will pray for God to do what Paul says God is able to do, far more abundantly than what we ask or think, according to the power at work within us. If we are to be successful in showing the world the love of Christ that unifies and never separates, then we must rely on the Holy Spirit within us to move us toward Godly solutions instead of trying to solve our problems based on our finite power and understanding.

I’m determined to pray Paul’s prayer in Ephesians more and take my chances.

Your time with God’s Word
Ephesians‬ ‭3:1-6‬, 14-21 ‭ESV‬‬

Photo by Marcos Paulo Prado at Unsplash.com

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