Paul prayed for the church to receive all that Jesus had obtained in His resurrection and glorification. He prayed for revelation and illumination to be filled with God and pleasing to God. Paul prayed and even travailed for Christ to be formed fully in all His church. He prayed a whole lot of incredible truths. We have three recited in scriptures.
Here are Paul’s three prayers that are recorded in scripture: Ephesians 1:15-23; 3:14-21; Colossians 1:9-18
In Paul’s second prayer, in Ephesians 3:14-21, he asks that the Father would grant according to the riches of His glory to strengthen us with might through the Holy Spirit in the inner man. Let’s try pulling that prayer into us.
First the Source: The Riches of the Father’s Glory. Not from ourselves, comes the might we need, but from the riches of His glory.
Second the Substance Given: Strength with Might. Literally “Empowered with Force”. Force is the Greek word dunamis, from where we derive the English word dynamite.
Third the Means: Through His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the One who, from God’s glory, brings strength with might.
Forth the Destination: The Inner Man. This glorious might is being brought from heaven’s realm of glory, through the Holy Spirit, into our inner man. This is huge, because we need to know and become aware that this is where His might lands— in our inner man.
Fifth the Purpose: That Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. Living in a vital union. With Christ in us by faith requires might from heavenly glory realm communicated by the Holy Spirit into our inner man where faith abounds and Christ dwells inside our heart by faith.
So, let’s try this simple pull on truth through prayer.
“Father, we ask that You would grant from the riches of your glory, through Your Spirit, a strengthening with might in our inner man. We receive this strengthening with might in our inner man, so that Christ might dwell abundantly and fully in our hearts by faith. Father, thank You for sending help from heaven, from Your glory, through Your Spirit, into our inner man, strengthening us with might in our inner man where Christ dwells in our hearts by faith.”
This prayer of Paul, we have now prayed 2 & 1/2 different ways, pulling the truth inside the prayer. Pulling, we choose by faith, and become aware of His might inside our inner man as Christ abides in our hearts.
This is the art of pulling: Putting into our own words the truth inside scripture, until we experience the truth inside scripture in our inner man. Sometimes it happens quickly, sometimes it takes time. Just don’t give up on the pull —that’s faith in action.
