Praying with A Purpose

Ephesians 3:14,16 "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, That he would grant you according to the riches of His glory,to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man".(read 3:14-21 for full impact of the prayer).

This is the great prayer of Paul for the church and the believer.It is probably the second most important prayer in the Bible.Because of it's importance, it should be prayed by believers daily.

This prayer  was not a prayer of begging for worldly gifts.It wasn't a prayer of tattling, it was a prayer to uplift,strengthen,save,enlighten and to aid in the growth of the church.The prayer first requested strength and power for the inner man, the spirit man,the new man from the new birth,requesting God's presence and power in our lives.The prayer requested for Christ to dwell in the hearts of man by faith.That means to have rule and reign in our hearts.Dwell means a permanent living arrangement.So the prayer is asking that Christ ,takes up permanent residence,settles in,and lives in the hearts of all believers.It is the presence of Christ that motivates us to follow Christ.He then prays that we be rooted and grounded in love the same love God has for us.He prays that we have understanding of all spiritual things.That we might fully grasp God's perfect plan of salvation, and the part we the church must play in that plan.Understanding God's perfect will for our life ,not the will we have chosen,but that which he has chosen for us. He prays that we know the love of Jesus which surpasses all understanding and knowledge.It is utterly impossible for man to grasp and experience the love of Christ, to know it in it's full measure,but we should pray and ask God to help us learn more about it everyday.

Prayer should be to lift up the name of Jesus;to stand in the gap for the lost and unsaved, while strengthening and uplifting the believer,while asking for strength to continue in the work we have been called to do.Jesus said "take no thought" for what we should wear, eat etc. He said our Father knows we have need of these things,so let us pray for the strengthening of the Church and other believers that God might get the glory throughout all ages.