The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 4:1-6 (day five)  

There’s no doubt that this section of Paul’s letter is about unity. What strikes me as I have read this text, is that unity is already there. We don’t (and can’t) create it or improve it. God has called us into an already existing unity (see vs 4-6). Our task and privilege is to “keep” or “preserve” it. One of the reasons we preserve fruit is so that it will taste the same whenever it is eaten instead of spoiling or rotting. Left unattended and ignored, fruit will eventually lose its fresh flavor. Same with unity. Left unattended, unity will not look or feel fresh and Holy. The process for preserving unity requires energy and intentionality (some versions say “make every effort”). Unity is one of God’s great gifts that we are called into and entrusted to keep and preserve.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 4:1-6 (day four)

Paul asks us to be diligent in preserving unity in the church. Other translations say “…make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit.” Unity isn’t just something we hope for or proclaim as a value. Paul says that unity is something we work for, not halfheartedly, but making every effort to keep the church unified in one Spirit, one hope, one Lord.

To be honest, I don’t know that I have made every effort to live in the unity of the Spirit with others. Not genuine unity, at least. Genuine unity doesn’t sweep tough conversations under the rug or ignore each other’s differences.  Genuine unity doesn’t settle for surface-level relationships in order to avoid disagreements. Genuine unity recognizes that while there are many things that contribute to our identity, one stands above them all – our relationship with Christ.

Your relationship with Christ is the most important thing about you. If you and another believer vote differently, live differently, speak differently and look differently, but you both proclaim Jesus as your savior, then you have the most important thing in common. While the differences between us may be significant and need to be addressed, Jesus is the firm foundation on which a unified church can be built.

As we head into an election season, and continue to live in a changing and challenging world, this Scripture must be the banner that we raise. We must make every effort to live in genuine unity in the Spirit.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 4:1-6 (day three)

“…one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”

“Lord, to whom shall we go?” Peter once asked. His experience was that he had found the one he had been looking for all his life. Here he was, and he wasn’t leaving. Now Paul scales up this devotion to encompass not only Christ, but the entire body of Christ – the church. Where else will you go if not with the church? Paul asks, in effect. Who else will you grow with, confess to, sing with, mourn with, pray with, hope with, rejoice with, live and die with if not the church?

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 4:1-6 (day two) 

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, vs. 1

Each of us has a high, holy calling. We are reminded throughout scripture of our inheritance, of our royal priesthood, and our adoption as sons and daughters of the king. This, however, is not a call to haughtiness, or exclusion. The world might expect you to assume an air of superiority as you accede to a royal position. Paul reminds us that with our new title comes the expectation of humility, mercy, and grace. The same formula that was shown to us by Jesus is the one he will use to measure us. May we never forget the state in which Jesus found us, and may that forever inform how we love and serve others.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 3:14-21 (day seven)

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us. 

Paul is a master at language. He created a phrase here that is not found anywhere else: “exceedingly abundantly.” Even when we are filled with the fullness of God, He is at work around us in ways our brain cannot even comprehend. It goes beyond abundance! We may think our prayers are grand, but God is grander. We may think we have a good plan, but God’s plan is greater. Yet, here is the kicker, we have that exceeding abundant power at work within us! When we allow the Holy Spirit to teach our mind and mold our heart, we too will be able to do far more than we ever dreamed possible.

to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. 

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 3:14-21 (day six)

This is Paul’s second prayer in this letter. Paul pauses to pray, “For this reason.” (3:14) Paul uses that phrase twice in the preceding verses. So, what’s the reason? He has two that I see. First, he prays because of his unique calling to bring the good news to Gentiles; he feels responsible for them. Second, he prays because of the mystery that has been revealed in Jesus, that God is recreating a multi-ethnic family of Jews and Gentiles. The bigness of God’s plan inspires Paul to pray.

What inspires you to pray? God wants us to pray in the small things, but he also desires us to pray because of the big things

Your Kingdom Come.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 3:14-21 (day five)

“may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,”

This week I have the privilege of being with over 50 of our adults in Branson, Missouri. I can tell you we have had fun- no doubt. AND, we have grown closer to God. Paul helps us understand how and why this happens. When we are together with other believers what begins to happen as we love, encourage, and serve each other is that we see, hear, and sense how the Lord works in the hearts and lives of His saints. When we are together, we get a bigger/better picture and clearer understanding of God- how He works, gifts, and blesses others. We hear it in testimonies as we listen to each other’s stories and experiences. We see it as we serve, encourage, and fellowship with each other. The love of God has too many facets for us to see on our own. We get to witness and learn so many more dimensions of His love when we are with other believers. That’s why gathering as the Body of Christ for worship and in smaller groups to study the Scriptures, fellowship, and serve together is so critical. God’s love is more grand and glorious than we can know by ourselves. It takes being with other believers to understand that He saves, uses, and blesses others in ways we might otherwise never hear, see, or sense. That is part of the testimony of our group this week in Branson. We have grown closer to God because we have seen and heard of His great love from each other.

“We can’t easily fathom his love on our own.”- Richard Coekin

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 3:14-21 (day four)

Think back for a moment. What are the times in your life when you have gained a new comprehension of the breadth, length, height, and depth of Christ’s love?

I recently had an experience where I found myself with a new understanding of the cross and the magnitude of God’s love. But this experience didn’t come like an epiphany out of nowhere. It came because I had experienced a deep hurt, and I took it to the Lord. In a vulnerable, painful place, the Lord showed me a new depth of love that I wouldn’t have otherwise seen. I think many of the times we understand God’s love in a new way are like that – we’re in a vulnerable place, and God meets us there.

I think it’s interesting here that Paul prays for his listeners to have power. Specifically, he prays that they would have “power through his Spirit,” so that Christ would dwell in them and they would know the breadth, length, height, and depth of God’s love. I didn’t feel “powerful” in the earthly sense when I saw a new depth of God’s love – but the Spirit’s power is different. The Spirit’s power is strong in our weakness and vulnerability, and allows us to see new dimensions of God’s love, so that Christ would dwell in our hearts more and more.

The Spirit’s power shows us the love that surpasses all knowledge, so that we may be “filled up to all the fullness of God.”

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 3:14-21 (day three)

“…that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”

The phrase “by faith,” might seem at times very close to “by make-believe.”  Consider, though: when you’ve been many miles away from someone you love and long to be near, have you brought that person to mind and felt in your body a sense of calm and well-being as you immerse yourself in the images of past experiences you’ve shared together? Or have you had such a moment bringing to mind a loved one who has died? Is this experience real, or is it make-believe? Surely you’re not pretending to feel the warmth and comfort of the person’s presence. There is a reality in such occurrences that transcends time and space. This is the way you are made; you carry around within you those you love. And so it is with Christ. Believe it.