For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 3:14

Paul was a praying man.  When Christ converted him he began to truly pray.  When Ananias, whom Christ sent to speak to Paul after his salvation, protested because of Paul’s reputation as a persecutor of Christians, Christ’s argument to Ananias was, ‘Behold, he prays.’  Paul never ceased praying.  We see evidence of his prayer life throughout his writings.  If Paul was intelligent, well educated, and experienced in the ways of the world, why did he invest so much time and effort on prayer?  The answer is, he understood the only way for truth and righteousness to advance in the world was for God to move.  God can move without prayer, but He moves us to pray.  When we pray, we are in a de facto way acknowledging that God is Sovereign.  What we want is for the kingdom of God to advance; for the widespread proclamation of Christ; for the transformation of lives through Christ; for the strengthening of Christ’s people; and for the destruction of all the works of the devil, which is the purpose for Christ’s manifestation.  All these things come by prayer.  Paul understood that and therefore prayed.  If he prayed, then we also can pray with the same understanding and desires.  ‘For this reason, I bow my knees.’

Our Good and Sovereign God,
we rejoice that even though You have determined all things,
after the counsel of Your own will,
You still want us to pray.
We praise You that as You move us to pray,
in Your will, You answer prayer to encourage us
and glorify Yourself.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:19

What is this fullness of which Paul is speaking and for which he is praying for his spiritual children?  To summarize it as simply as possible, it is the completeness of all that God intends for us to have and be in Christ.  This includes the work of the Spirit to strengthen us; Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith; being rooted and grounded in love; comprehending and knowing the love of Christ, which all combine to complete this fullness.  The end result is a mature believer who ultimately demonstrates the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  These characteristics are what bring us to look very much like Christ, Who has the Holy Spirit without measure.  The end goal of all that God is doing in us is to make us like Christ.  The fulfillment of that goal is when ‘we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.’  This fullness is not just for a few of the ‘super-saints,’ but is what God intends for every person whom He saves by Free and Sovereign Grace.  It is good for us to know where God is taking us in our spiritual journey.  We shall safely arrive at our Father’s house in the condition He intends for us to be, ‘filled with all the fullness of God.’

Our Holy, Wise and Wonderful God,
we rejoice that You have an abundance of gifts for us.
We praise You that in Christ,
by the power of the Holy Spirit,
we shall arrive exactly where You want us to be,
with all the fullness that You intend for us to have.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.

Ephesians 3:16

None of us wants to be weak.  We go to great lengths to ensure our strength, to increase our strength, and to maintain our strength.  Unpleasantly, one of the most difficult areas to strengthen is the inner man.  This is the area where the Apostle Paul had the most concern for his Ephesian children in the faith.  He was interested enough in their inward strength as to make it a matter of prayer.   He recognized that even though they might make use of the means of grace, yet true strengthening in the inner man would come through the Holy Spirit.  We ought to be as wise as Paul was.  If we, and those whom we love are to be spiritually strong, we are going to need what only the Holy Spirit can provide.  How will He provide it?  He will provide it by showing us Christ in the Scriptures.  He will give us faith to believe in all Christ is and does.  He will point us to Christ again and again.  He will strengthen us in the inner man until our testimony is, ‘For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.’  This is what happened when He strengthened the saints of old.  He is the same Holy Spirit today and will strengthen us.

Our Wise and Loving God,
we rejoice that You are able to strengthen us by the power of Your Spirit.
We pray that You will grant unto us wisdom and patience,
as You perform Your perfect work.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.

Ephesians 3:16

The Holy Spirit, the Third Member of the Trinity, is ‘the same in substance, equal in power and glory’ with the Father and the Son.  He is the Chief Executive Officer of Redemption.  What the Father has planned and purposed, Christ has purchased. The Holy Spirit applies this redemption unto all for whom God intends it.  Therefore, when it comes to the discussion of spiritual strengthening, Paul rightly brings forth the work of the Holy Spirit.  The work of God in His people and by His people in the world will only ever come to fruition by His Spirit.  We see evidence of this throughout the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.  One of the most striking examples of it is the scene of Acts 2, when on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit filled the disciples and enabled them to preach Christ in languages which they had never acquired by study.  The boldness which they evidenced on that day, and in the days that followed, was evidence that the Holy Spirit was strengthening them with might in the inner man.  What they had, we also need.  We request it for ourselves and for those whom we love.  Our prayer personally and for others is, ‘to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man.’

Our Wise and Wonderful God,
we rejoice at the work of Your Holy Spirit in us.
We praise You that as He takes the things of Christ
and shows them unto us,
He strengthens us to become what You want us to be.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning