The Everyday Prayer

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,”

Paul is convinced that being in community and fellowship with other believers gives them the best chance to grow and grasp God’s love. Spiritual growth is often a group activity. Why?  How?  Because when you’re with other believers in worship, bible study, serving, praying, and ministering- you see, hear, and experience the many facets of God’s love. We learn from one another. We challenge one another. We encourage one another. Testimonies. Examples. Faithfulness. Endurance. Joy. Kindness. All, ways we might not ever encounter God’s love and power on our own or by ourselves. God desires to use each of us to display His love to others. In the same way, God desires to use others to teach and remind each of us (if we are willing to look, listen, and learn) of His great love and holiness. Wanna grow?  Wanna walk in step with the Spirit? Then, be faithful to be in your place with other believers, and be ready to see and sense the Lord’s love and power!!

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

It is in times of temporary distress or tribulation that, if we’re keeping in step with the Spirit, we can begin to appreciate the magnitude of God’s love. In times of weakness or hardship, we develop a further understanding of the width, length, height, and depth of the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.

When we see the Lord move in someone’s life whom we have a distaste for, or even despise, we see the width of God’s love that extends to every living thing, a far wider love than we can offer. When we think to ourselves after our latest failed attempt to get rid of that issue of sin in our life, “Surely I’ve exhausted God’s grace,” we see the length of God’s love that extends eternally, without term limits. When we cry out for an Advocate, we see the height of God’s love that extends from this earth all the way up to the throne room, where Christ intercedes on our behalf. In our absolute lowest moments, we see the depth of God’s love, finding us at rock bottom and pulling us up again.

We know, as we’re told in Romans, that tribulations bring about perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. But it’s not simply the experience of these hardships that cause this to happen. It’s the newfound experience of God’s love that leads us to hope. So if you’re in the thick of distress right now, don’t dismay. You’ll find new, unexplored territory of God’s love – more than you could ever ask, think, or imagine.

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

“that [God] would grant you…to be strengthened with power…in the inner man…”

That’s a lot of power from the Holy Spirit that Paul prays would flow to the core of your being. Will it overwhelm you? Not at all. Consider the concept of thermal runaway, by which a system – such as a car battery – receives so much power in a recharging attempt that a positive feedback loop leads to the explosion of the battery. Why wouldn’t your inner being do just that when it receives God’s power? After all, you’re “only human,” and Paul’s talking about universe-creating potency. Well, that “only human” phrase is completely contrary to what God has created. There’s no such thing as “only human.” The human creature comes into being in God’s image. God made good stuff. That’s why God’s power will strengthen you and not destroy you.

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

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, Vs. 14

Bow (14) – repent, submit                                                                                                   He would grant (16)…to be strengthened                                                                 That Christ may dwell (17)                                                                                                   So, you may comprehend (18)                                                                                         And know the Love of Christ (19)…and be filled

Where does it all begin? It begins with a submitted and repentant heart. The wonder and majesty that follow vs. 14 are predicated on a heart that cannot receive blessings if filled with confusion, distraction, and sin. Paul is demonstrating this process on behalf of the people of Ephesus, but the script is the same for an individual believer. Want to be filled with the goodness of God? Want to enter into a relationship that exceeds anything that you have ever imagined? Begin with an attitude of repentance.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 18:1-8 (day seven)

Now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? Luke 18:7

You are precious to God. He hears your prayers. Even when you feel like a broken record, repeating the same prayer time and time again, God is working. How do we find this assurance when we can not see the prayer being answered? The assurance is in our salvation. You have been chosen by Him before the beginning of time. You are His child. Unlike the judge who begrudgingly provided justice for the widow whom he had no personal connection with, God will provide justice for His children whom He has a vested interest in. He chose you! Continue to ask. Continue to seek. Continue to knock, and rest assured, your Father will open the door when the time is right.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 18:1-8 (day six)

We can feel like God doesn’t care when our prayers go unanswered. We wonder if he hears us or even cares about our struggles. After teaching about the suddenness of his return, Jesus then reaffirms that God hears their cries and cares about justice.

Jesus concludes if an unrighteous judge, who could care less about God and people, can get it right some of the time, then a God who loves his people and guarantees justice will get it right 100 percent of the time.

Our persistent prayer is not begging God to act on our behalf, it is the fervent agreement with God’s holy decree against injustice and a joyful anticipation of the Son’s sudden return.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 18:1-8 (day five) “However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

Jesus has just finished teaching on the Kingdom of God. Now, He is teaching us how to live in the “already, not yet” tension. Jesus had come, bringing the Kingdom of God with Him. (Chapter 17). The Kingdom is “already” here for those who believe in Him. But it is “not yet” complete (until His second coming).  Suffering, persecution, and sin are all still prevalent in the “not yet”. So how do you live in this already, not yet tension?  Jesus addresses that question in this week’s Re:Verse text. One of the ways is persistent prayer. Keeps our faith tethered to the Living God (in conversation), who is near and listening. Keeps our thoughts and hopes informed and longing for the coming Kingdom (when faith will be sight). How often and how sincerely  should we pray?  The parable teaches us to pray continually and persistently. Jesus will find faith on earth in His children who pray  like this in the “already, not yet”.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 18:1-8 (day four)

This odd little parable comes right after Jesus is telling the disciples about the future coming of the Kingdom of God. He advises them, as they consider his second coming, “Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” He concludes this conversation on an ominous note as he foretells his crucifixion.

I’m sure the tension was palpable after the disciples heard this. Seeing their pain and confusion, he gives them a word of encouragement. He tells them, in the face of all of this, to pray. Pray with determination like the widow who had nothing left to lose. Pray to the One who is not an apathetic judge, but who is the creator of justice. Pray with boldness to the One who meets judgment with mercy. It is nothing short of a miracle that we’re invited to pray with boldness to this good of a God.

Part of that “losing your life” business Jesus talked about happens through this kind of prayer. The more we boldly approach the throne of God, the more acquainted we become with the One who sits on it. The more we get to know him, the more we can loosen our grip on our life as we give it into his hands.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 18:1-8 (day three)

“Now [Jesus] was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart…”

Jesus confirms that demoralizing prayer experiences are a thing. The very reason for the existence of this parable, Luke states, is Jesus’s concern for the toll such experiences take on the human spirit. It’s those moments of meagerness and frailty that matter to Christ: the poor woman possessed only two coins to give; the crowd had only two fishes and five loaves; and the desperate person feels only despair in prayer. To all who know such circumstances, Jesus declares that no anguished heart will go unanswered. Thus, Jesus honored the poor woman as the biggest giver of all; Jesus fed everybody until they could eat no more; and to the person at rope’s end, Jesus says, “Tell me more.”