[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Wednesday, October 2, 2013

[Paul]

Hello and good day to all of you.  Yes, I had a great night sleeping last night and am ready to present you with the first of a two-part article which appeared in the latest issue of the "Higher Way," the magazine of spiritual growth, published by the Apostolic Faith Church in Portland, Oregon.

The author of this piece, Ed Habre, is on the ministerial staff of the above church in their headquarters city.  When I read this on my downtime while at my local senior citizens center between the finishing of lunch and the time that the van came to take us to our respective homes, I thought to myself, "Now here's an article on prayer that I must share with all my brother and sister Christians who are on a particular email list or individually." Even though I don't agree entirely with all the doctrines of the Apostolic Faith Church, this article is right on target, and hopefully most, if not all, of you will agree that Ed did a terrific job in writing this, with the Lord's heading of course.  This is the first of two parts because of its length, and its title is "A Prayer for the Church," rendered as follows:

Paul set an example for us when he prayed for the believers at Ephesus.

The Book of Ephesians contains two prayers.  The first prayer appears in chapter one and is offered by the Apostle Paul for the Ephesian church.  It is an expression of his heart's feeling toward them.  The second prayer is found in chapter three, and takes on a broader scope.  We read, "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of who the whole family in heaven and earth are named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.  Now unto Him that is exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen" (Ephesians 3:14-21).

In this prayer, Paul starts out by praying for just the Ephesian church, and then it seems as if he enlarges his prayer so that it literally encompasses believers throughout all ages--a prayer that extends to us, and one that would be practical for us to pray as well.  It is a prayer for the Church, and the Church still needs prayer! We are the Church, because we have committed our lives to the Lord.  And those of us who are followers of Christ need to pray for one another.

It is interesting how the experiences of life can change our perspective.  I was in Ephesus a year ago.  Of course I had read about Ephesus in the Word of God, but I had never been there before.  My perception of the city and my feelings toward the Book of Ephesians were completely altered by that trip.

My wife, Kim and I had the opportunity to walk through the ruins of what had once been a magnificent city.  Prior to our visit, we had no idea what a large area housed the city.  To our surprise, we learned that only about twenty percent of ancient Ephesus has been excavated.  Our tour guide related some of the history of Ephesus, and pointed out various landmarks.  We realized that we were standing where an ancient people had lived--people who lived, breathed, experienced life, and had hopes and dreams just like we do.  I was consumed with thoughts of who these people were.  What were they thinking? What were they doing? What were their lives like? As we walked through those excavated pathways, I thought, This is where Paul the Apostle walked! We are seeing places that he saw.  He was familiar with these buildings; he knew and loved the people who lived here.

When we read the Book of Ephesians, we see that Paul cared for the believers at Ephesus.  He prayed for them and nurtured their spiritual lives.  They were faithful Christians, and he was doing all he could to help them.  So as we look at this prayer, I wonder:  Could this prayer be a model for us to help us do likewise for the believers of of our day? Could we use it not only to frame the right words to pray, but to help us remember what it is that God wants us to accomplish as a group of believers?

If we put what Paul was saying into a one-sentence overview, it is basically this:  "With sincerity borne out of urgency, I call upon God to help us to know Christ in such a way that He can do marvelous things through us for His own Name's honor and glory." That is the essence of what he was saying in these verses.

We will consider five key aspects as we focus on this prayer for the Church:  posture, person, purpose, potential and praise.

Posture

Verse 14 begins, "For this cause I bow my knees ..." Before each of our services in church, many of us meet in a room designated for prayer.  We get on our knees and together make an appeal to God for the meeting before us, and for God's will to be done in the lives of our brothers and sisters.  Prayer requests regarding needs in the Body of Christ are brought to our attention, and we kneel and pray for the needs that have been shared.

Kneeling is more than just a physical activity.  It is more than a symbolic gesture.  When we kneel, our posture reveals the posture of our hearts.  Kneeling down reflects our submission to the One we wish to honor.  In cultures where the monarch is the ruler, it is not uncommon for people who come into his or her presence to kneel or bow, showing reverence.  If a person would to that to show reverence to another human being, how much more should we do so before the God of Heaven!

This is not the only Scriptural reference to kneeling when in prayer.  In the Book of Acts, we read that one time when Paul was on his way to Jerusalem, he stopped in the coastal town of Miletus, which is not far from Ephesus.  While he was there, he called for the elders of Ephesus to come to meet with him--the same group group of individuals that we read about in his prayer for the Ephesians.  He wanted to explain a few things to them, to give them some instructions, and to tell them of some serious issues that were confronting the body of believers.  After Paul was done speaking, it tells us that he knelt down, and the elders knelt down as well.  They assumed this position before God, and then the Ephesian elders prayed over their brother Paul.  The posture of their bodies mirrored the posture of their hearts.  And that is what it means to kneel before God--it is a way of showing reverence, submission, and honor to Him.

Person

Before whom do we bow? The second part of verse 14 answers that question.  It says, "unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named." We kneel before God, the Father of our Lord Jesus.  It was critical for these Ephesians to know and understand a truth that we hold dear:  that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, along with the Holy Spirit, comprise the divine Trinity.  They are co-equal.  They are co-creators of all things.  When we pray, we are actually addressing the One who spoke everything into existence! When we consider that, is it difficult to assume a posture of submission and honor before Him? No! It is completely natural, absolutely proper, and that is what we do.

And there you have Brother Ed Habre's first part of this excellent article.  I hope and pray that, despite our own church's doctrinal and other views on this subject, including our personal ones, that this excellent piece ministered to you and showed you some aspects of prayer that you didn't know before or even considered.  It sure did that for me.

And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, in these last days in which we live.  Lord willing, this article will be concluded tomorrow.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul (not the Apostle)