Paul’s Power Prayer

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On today's edition of Pathway to Victory. Now, as Paul comes to the close of chapter three, before he talks about our walk with God, he can't help but offer a prayer. I call it Paul's power prayer. He's going to pray for the four things he wants God to do in your life and my life as a result of the wealth we've inherited from Jesus Christ. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress. As Christians, we've inherited tremendous spiritual wealth through Jesus Christ.

But how can we tap into those riches and live victoriously? Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress examines a profound prayer by the Apostle Paul that reveals the key to experiencing God's power, presence, love, and fullness in our daily lives. Now, here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.

Dr. Jeffress. Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Imagine sitting in a luxurious deck chair on an exquisite cruise liner overlooking the shoreline where Paul conducted his missionary journeys. Imagine having all of your meals prepared and served for 12 days in a row. Well, that's your opportunity on the upcoming Pathway to Victory, Journeys of Paul Mediterranean Cruise, and would love to have you go along with us. The dates are May 5th through 16th, 2025.

During our 12-day vacation, we'll be stopping at historic sites like Ephesus, and we'll enjoy other Mediterranean ports as well, such as Santorini, Greece, and Naples, Italy. So please take a look at the remarkable destinations and reserve your spot today by going to ptv.org. Before we begin today's message, I'll remind you that I've written a brand new book to complement this teaching series. It's called Holy Living in an Unholy World. In my book, I help you understand how to integrate biblical truth into the challenging times in which we live. Our journey begins by accessing the riches in Christ that He's already provided to you. Let me send you a copy of my brand new book, Holy Living in an Unholy World. It'll come with my thanks when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. Well, when you think about petitioning God, what comes to mind? Maybe you imagine a formal prayer or a desperate plea when you're in trouble. Well, today we're going to look at a potent prayer from the Apostle Paul. His words revealed the incredible blessings that belong to every believer in Christ.

I titled today's message, Paul's Power Prayer. Merriam Webster's dictionary defines eccentric as a person who behaves in an odd or unusual way, who deviates from conventional and accepted usage or conduct, especially in whimsical ways. Now, instead of using all those words, the editors of that dictionary could have simply placed a picture of Julian Ellis Morris. You may not be familiar with the name, but Morris was an eccentric millionaire who lived in England, who got up every morning and dressed as a tramp, and would go door to door selling razor blades and shampoo. And when he had finished selling his inventory, he would call for his chauffeured limousine to pick him up.

He would go back to his mansion, change into formal evening wear, and go to the most expensive restaurant in the city. Why in the world would somebody who is so wealthy want to live like a pauper? That's exactly the question Paul asks in his letter to the church at Ephesus. And the book of Ephesians is about our spiritual wealth we have received in Jesus Christ.

There's no reason to live as though you're spiritually bankrupt when you consider all that God has done for you. Now, as Paul comes to the close of chapter three, before he talks about our walk with God, he can't help but offer a prayer. Sometimes he is so overwhelmed with what God has done, he just stops right there and prays. He did it in chapter one in Ephesians, and now he does it in chapter three. Notice Paul's prayer. I call it Paul's power prayer.

He's going to pray for the four things he wants God to do in your life and my life as a result of the wealth we've inherited from Jesus Christ. Notice there's a prelude to the prayer, there are the petitions of the prayer, and there is a postlude to the prayer. Let's look at Paul's prelude. Look at verse 14. For this reason, now we learned last time, anytime we see those words for this reason, we ought to ask for what reason are you talking about, Paul?

Well, he's talking about everything he's written in chapters one to three so far. Paul is saying, when I think about everything God has done for me, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. Many have pointed out the wordplay here. Father is patera, family is patria, God is the head of every family in heaven and on earth. Now, it was interesting to me how many scholars misread this verse. They commented on this verse as if Paul were saying, I bow my knee before the Father, from whom the family in heaven and on earth, as if there is one family and God is the father of that one family, the family of God.

Now, it is true. There is a family of God. Some are in heaven and some are on earth. The church is God's family. But that's not what Paul is talking about here. He doesn't say, from whom the whole family in heaven and on earth, he says what?

Every family. Meaning there are multiple families who are in heaven and on earth. You know what that tells me? It's not a major point of this verse, but it's an interesting one. Our relationships we have here on earth don't cease when we get to heaven. You know, we get this idea sometimes that when we die and go to heaven, it's somebody else who goes to heaven. Or we think that God does this memory wipe once we enter into heaven, that we forget everything we've ever done and everybody we've ever known and every family member we've ever loved.

That is not true. Our life is a continuum. It begins the moment we're born, but it extends past death into eternity. And I believe one of the things we remember and experience is our family. Again, we don't get married as we do here on earth. It's not the same relationship.

I think it's going to be a better relationship. But Paul is saying, there are families in heaven as well as on earth. And your family, if it's a believing family, those who are believers are in heaven. You're on earth, but you're still a family. And I believe in heaven we're going to exist as families.

God doesn't forget that distinction. He says, I bow before the father who is the source, the father of every family in heaven and on earth. Now, what does Paul pray for?

Look at Paul's petition. There are four things he wants you to experience because of your wealth in Christ. First of all, to experience God's power. Look at verse 16. I pray that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power through his spirit in the inner man.

I want to look at each of those prepositional phrases. With power through his spirit in the inner man. Notice the focus of this prayer is that we would have power in the inner man. All of our focus in our culture is on the outer man, our bodies. Isn't that true? I mean, we're just obsessed with the body.

I mean, we're always thinking about our outer man, our outer body. We're trying to prolong our inevitable decay and death. I was reading an article this week, 32 tips for how to live to be 100 years old. 30 things you can do to live to be 100. I've got a father-in-law who's 96 and active and vibrant. He's probably going to make it.

Most of us won't make it. But here are 32 tips, a few things. Don't smoke. Engage in exercise. Do routine screenings. Sleep seven to nine hours a day. Take vacations. Give more money to the church.

Maintain a healthy diet. Oh, I'm sorry. I just slipped that one in there. Oh, I'm sorry.

I just slipped that one in there. But it doesn't matter what you do. It doesn't matter what you do. You're just trying to delay the inevitable. You're going to die. Should I be discouraged about that?

Not at all. 2 Corinthians 4 16, Paul says, we do not lose heart. But though the outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

Even though our body decays, our inner man, our real self can be strengthened every day. Strengthened with what? Strengthened with power. Power.

Dunamis. We get our word dynamite from it. What makes a stick of dynamite so powerful?

It's what's packed inside of it, that gunpowder. That gives it power. You and I have been packed not with gunpowder, but with the Holy Spirit of God. That's why he says, strengthened with power through his Spirit. Paul says, I want you to experience God's power to strengthen the inner man through the Holy Spirit of God. He prays for God's power. Secondly, he says, I want you to experience God's presence. Look at verse 17. So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Now, wait a minute, pastor. You just said, the moment we trust in Christ, we receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12, 13, for with one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body.

So why should we pray that Christ might live or dwell in our hearts through faith if he's already there? Well, the key is that word dwell. Dwell. Now, there are two words Paul had a choice of using that is translated dwell.

One is para oikeo. It means to live as a stranger and alien in a place. It's a word that was used to describe Abraham.

Remember Abraham lived his life, his entire life as a stranger and alien in this world. He was looking for a better place, a better country, heaven itself. But that's not the word Paul uses. He uses instead the word kata oikeo.

Kata oikeo. That means to live or dwell permanently, to live or dwell comfortably in a certain place. And that's the word Paul is using. He says, I pray that Christ might live comfortably, that he might feel at home in your life.

That's what he's talking about. He's praying that Christ might dwell, live comfortably in your hearts through faith. Thirdly, he says, I pray that you would experience God's love.

Look at verse 17. And that you being rooted and grounded in love. What love is he talking about? He's talking about that we might experience the love of God. That we might be rooted in it. That's a botanical term that refers to a plant that derives its nourishment from the soil beneath.

That's what gives the plant life. He said, I pray that you might gain spiritual nourishment and encouragement from the knowledge that God loves you. And not only rooted in it, but grounded in God's love.

He changes metaphors. That's an architectural term that means to have a solid foundation. What Paul is saying is, I pray that you may be so grounded in the knowledge of God's love for you that nothing shakes you. No adversity causes you to lose your faith. What is that knowledge?

Think about it. The knowledge, the assurance that the creator of this universe, the one who holds life and death in his hands, he actually loves you. He has a feeling about you. He has a plan for your life. He said, I pray that you might know that. That you might be able to comprehend, verse 18, with all the saints.

What is the breadth, the length, the height, the depth of God's love? My favorite chapter in all the Bible is Romans chapter 8. That chapter begins with no condemnation. There is therefore now no condemnation awaiting those who are in Christ Jesus.

But that chapter finishes with no separation. Paul said it this way in verses 38 and 39, for I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God. Death can't and life can't. The angels won't and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God's love away. Or wherever we are, high above the ocean or in the deepest sea, nothing can ever separate us from the love of God demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us.

Isn't that great? That is the love of God. And Paul says, I pray that you would know that, that you would apprehend it, that it would be a part of your life. And then he says, finally, I pray that you would experience God's fullness.

Look at verse 19, to know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge so that you might be filled up with all the fullness of God. That word fill, playero, it refers to a sail on a sail ship that is filled up with the wind. You know, when a sail is filled up with the wind, the sail doesn't contain all of the wind, but the sail itself is filled up with the wind. The sail can be completely filled with the wind, but the wind is not just contained in that sail.

Two very different things. And when that sailboat is filled up with wind, that wind directs it. When Paul says, be filled with the Spirit, he's not saying that you keep pouring the Holy Spirit into our lives. No, we receive all of the Holy Spirit the moment we're saved. But Paul's prayer when he says, be filled with the Spirit, literally is, be directed by, be controlled by the Holy Spirit of God.

He says, my prayer is that you might be filled up with all the fullness of God, that His love, His power, His presence in your life might just fill you up, running over with His power. I remember a story I heard Chuck Swindoll tell one time, about a time he was pastoring in Fullerton, California. Their family had gone to Laguna Beach one Saturday to spend the day, and when they got back home that night, they were tucking their children into bed. And he walked in his youngest daughter's bedroom and saw a jar filled with water on the ledge. And Chuck said, what is that? She said, Daddy, I just wanted to bring the ocean home with me.

Now, the whole ocean couldn't be contained in that little jar, but that jar could be filled with the ocean. And that's what Paul is saying here. I pray that you would be filled with the fullness of God. Now, Paul could have easily stopped his prayer right there, but I want you to notice his postlude, the benediction.

We know it so well. Verse 20, now to Him who is able to do, exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us. Will you notice three things from that little benediction? First of all, God is able to do.

Write that down. Now to Him who is able to do, that word able, poieo, God is able. That's why I had you sing that chorus today. God is able.

Jeremiah 32, 27, God says, I am the Lord. God, is there anything too hard for me? What is it you're facing today? Is anything you're facing too hard for God to do? Remember what Jesus said, with man, it is impossible, but with God, all things are possible. There is nothing you can ask God to do that is beyond His ability. God is able to do. Secondly, God is able to do what we ask or even imagine.

Now, I want to be careful here. We need to ask God for what is in our heart. James said, you have not because you ask not. But have you ever had God do something that you didn't ask Him to do? Maybe something that was so over the top that you thought about praying about it, but you thought, I don't even dare ask God to do this. I just don't ever dare ask Him to do it. It's only something I can imagine, and yet God does it anyway.

Have you ever had something like that in your life? See, God is able to do not just what we ask, but even the things that we just secretly imagine. Faith in praying doesn't mean conjuring up this positive thinking mumbo jumbo and says, if I can just name it, I can claim it. No, there's no promise that God is going to do everything we ask Him to do. Some things He says no to out of His love for us.

He has a better plan. But sometimes God does what we ask, and even sometimes He does what we just imagine. God is able to do. He's able to do what we ask or imagine, and He is able, thirdly, to do beyond what we imagine. Now to Him who is able to do exceeding, abundantly, beyond. Paul used one Greek word that is translated exceeding, abundantly, beyond. It's a Greek word he just made up because he was trying to come up with a superlative. How can I describe God's power?

So he took three different Greek words, strung them together into one, kind of like supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. He just put these words together to describe God's above and beyond ability to do what we even just simply imagine. That is the power of God. I was trying to think how to illustrate that for you, and thankfully, Dr. Criswell came to my rescue because he wrote these words about this passage about God's over-the-top ability to do what we ask or even imagine. Dr. Criswell said, just how able is God?

Look at the sun 93 million miles away, so large and powerful that all the planets in our solar system could fall into it. Is the sun with all of its energy capable of illuminating this sanctuary, this worship center? Or look at the mighty Mississippi River. Is there enough water in that river to satisfy the thirst of a single man or a woman? It is the same with God's power in our life. Can we ever ask God for too much?

Is there anything too hard for Him to do? Not only is He able to do what we ask, but He's able to do far above what we could ever imagine. Who in this room would have ever thought to ask God to take on human form and come to earth and die for our sins? Who would have ever imagined to ask for such a thing, but God did it for us? Who would ever ask God, having done that, to adopt us and put us into His family and give us everything He's given His Son, Jesus Christ? Why, even the prodigal son could only ask his father to make him a slave, but God has adopted us. Who would have ever thought to ask God to take our bodies once we've died and to change them and make them incorruptible and immortal, but that's exactly what God does.

The Bible tells us that when we die, God marks the spot where we die. He marks our atoms, our particles, our dust, and He promises to raise them from the dead. Is there anything too hard for God?

No! God is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond anything that we ask or think, and that's why Paul closes this prayer with these words. To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Today I want to encourage you to pray in faith and to boldly petition God for His blessing.

There's no guarantee that God will always say yes, but we can quietly rest in His answer knowing He will always do what's best for us. Earlier on today's program you heard me refer to a brand new book I've written to coincide with this study in Ephesians. Like the teaching series, I've titled my book, Holy Living in an Unholy World. The first few chapters in my book deal with our spiritual wealth in Jesus.

That is, the treasure chest that's overflowing with spiritual blessings that belong to every Christian. The second part of the book deals with our spiritual walk. It answers the pressing question, how are we to navigate through our sinful world? My book is perfectly suited for your personal study or to read together in a small group.

There's even a group study guide available to you. So ask for your copy of my new book, Holy Living in an Unholy World, when you give a generous gift to support the growing ministry of Pathway to Victory. Well, every day I thank God for the impact we're having across America and around the world through the ministry of Pathway to Victory. Despite the challenges our country is facing, God is using our efforts to shine His light into the darkness. Whether it's through your car radio, smartphone, or television screen, we're reaching out farther and wider with God's hope and truth and touching even more lives than ever before. And we're praying for even more opportunities to spread the good news. So thank you for standing with us. None of this impact would be possible without your partnership and financial support.

David? Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. When you support the ministry of Pathway to Victory by giving a generous gift, we're going to say thanks by sending you the brand new book by Dr. Robert Jeffress, Holy Living in an Unholy World. To request your copy, call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org. And when you give $75 or more, we'll also send you all 19 messages from the brand new Holy Living in an Unholy World teaching series.

These messages come on both DVD video and MP3 format audio discs, along with a companion study guide. Again, call 866-999-2965 or go to ptv.org. If you'd prefer to write, here's that mailing address, PO Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. That's PO Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222.

I'm David J. Mullins. You know, the church really is more than just a building or a weekly gathering. It's the body of Christ, his representative on earth. So how should we act as members of this sacred community?

Hear a message called, How to Act in Church. That's Wednesday on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. One of the most impactful ways you can give is by becoming a Pathway partner. Your monthly gift will empower Pathway to Victory to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and help others become rooted more firmly in his word. To become a Pathway partner, go to ptv.org slash donate or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.