Sermon Summary
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.”
In Ephesians 3, the apostle Paul kneels before the Father and prays for the church. He does not ask first for easier circumstances, greater comfort, or freedom from his own imprisonment. He prays that God’s people will receive spiritual strength, understand the vast love of Christ, and be filled with the fullness of God.
Rev. John Phillips reminded us that prayer was not a minor part of Paul’s life. “Paul took prayer seriously.” It was a source of spiritual power, personal discipline, and faithful service to Christ.
Paul’s own life had been transformed through an encounter with Jesus. Once an enemy of the church, he became an apostle of the risen Lord. That transformation drove him to his knees. God accomplished in Paul what Paul could never have accomplished for himself.
The sermon emphasized two requests within Paul’s prayer. First, Paul asks that believers be strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit in their inner being. Rev. Phillips described this as a kind of spiritual “dynamite,” a power that only God can place within us. Physical strength receives a great deal of attention, but our hearts, minds, and souls also need care. That strength grows as we continually engage with Christ through prayer and the disciplines of Christian life.
Prayer cannot remain a ritual, a line in the bulletin, or something we expect someone else to do for us. “Don’t let somebody else do your praying,” Rev. Phillips urged. Personal prayer and united prayer help the church seek God’s will, address conflict, confess sin, and place Christ back at the center.
The Ephesian church was later warned that it had left its first love. Its routines continued, but Christ no longer held first place in the hearts of the people. Prayer shines light on the places where we may be hiding from God and invites us to return to wholehearted devotion.
Paul’s second request is that believers grasp how wide, long, high, and deep the love of Christ truly is. God desires a church that is full, not merely in attendance, but in holiness, grace, truth, and love. Jesus came full of grace and truth, and his people are called to reflect both with compassion.
Paul closes his prayer by praising the God who is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. This is the hope of the church. We do not depend on our own persuasive ability, resources, or carefully arranged plans. We depend on God’s power working within us.
The main point is clear: the church is renewed when God’s people return to serious, Christ-centered prayer. This week, read Ephesians 3:14-21 and John 17, set aside intentional time to pray, ask God to strengthen your inner life, bring unresolved struggles honestly before him, and pray with other believers whenever the opportunity is available.