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Paul's Prayer I



          For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. (Ephesians 3:14-17a)

          We’ve reached the time of year when I add safety to my prayer request list of wisdom, direction, and attitude. I also usually present an administrative apology in advance in case my posts get interrupted by travel. There are some other things I might be tempted to add this year, because I know prayer is more important than I practice.
          In today’s passage and tomorrow’s, Paul shares about his prayer for the Ephesians. Now, I imagine that if he knew that someone from Ephesus was sick, he’d prayer for that sickness. Or, if he knew someone was going on a journey, he’d pray for journey mercies, or possibly success. Those are important prayers. We need to love people enough to care about the ex-sister-in-law of their second cousin because that person matters to the person asking for prayer and to God, but Paul’s focus here is in line with God’s will for each of us.
          Looking at the New International Version of the passage, it’s tempting to see this in terms of encouragement, which means in-heart-continuing. I think it is meant to be encouraging, but the Greek seems to add a slightly different emphasis. It’s not so much that God gives you the strength to face whatever, it’s that He faces whatever in His power through you. It’s the difference between God turning a wimp into a superhero, and God stepping in and being the superhero.
          The result of that power is that Christ dwells in our hearts. It needs to be mentioned here that Paul wasn’t talking about Christ living in our emotions. This isn’t about our feelings. The heart is the seat of the will, wh ich at least suggests that the power that strengthens us, or powerfully works through us operates through our choices.
          Turning the mirror toward myself, this idea is scary. I have told people that my father and I were a great pair. He didn’t want to make any decisions, and I live in fear of making the wrong decision. And, it was a given that whatever decision I made, unless it was the one Dad would have made, it was wrong. Now I’m making decisions that I feel ill-equipped to make. I don’t know what the right answer, but I am making them and moving forward with the prayer that God will work through me to accomplish His will.

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