Well, it looks like we will finish our study in Ephesians today. As with any in-depth study of the Bible, I’m grateful for the wonderful truths we’ve discovered, but realize that we have only scratched the surface. During these 28 classes, we have hopefully been encouraged by Paul’s explanation of the gifts we have received from God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit…we’ve labeled that our Wealth in Christ. And hopefully, we have been encouraged to experience a Walk in Christ…living the Christian life in the only way possible, by allowing Jesus to be Jesus in each of us uniquely and individually, reminding ourselves often that "we can’t, He never said we could…He can and always said He would."

Let’s take a few minutes to review:

In chapter 1, the emphasis is on the Christian’s possessions in Christ. Paul describes the blessings believers have received from the Father, from the Son and from the Holy Spirit. Paul concludes chapter 1 by praying that the Ephesians will be given the gift of understanding all these blessings. I believe that prayer includes believers today as well.

Why did God give these gifts? All of these riches come by God’s grace and for God’s glory. Did you notice that after each of the main sections in Ephesians 1:3–14, Paul has added the purpose behind these gifts? Why has God the Father chosen us, adopted us, and accepted us? "…to the praise of the glory of His grace" (Eph. 1:6). Why has the Son redeemed us, forgiven us, revealed God’s will to us, and given Himself as our inheritance? "…that we should be to the praise of His glory" (Eph. 1:12). Why has God the Spirit sealed us and become the guarantee of our future in heaven? "…unto the praise of His glory" (Eph. 1:14).

In chapter 2, the emphasis is on the Christian’s position in Christ and Paul points out that on one level we have been raised with Jesus and are seated with Him in heaven and on another level, we remain here, reconciled with God, providing a living temple in which He dwells.

In the first thirteen verses of chapter 3, Paul explains his ministry of sharing the good news that God has included the Gentiles in His redemptive promises. In verse 14, he returns to the prayer he started in verse 1 of chapter 3. Notice that his first prayer in chapter 1 was that believers might be enlightened as to their position before God and the gifts that are theirs from the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In this prayer, Paul asks that they might be enabled to live what they have learned. Verse 17 is the key: so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

The first sixteen verses of chapter 4 describe the unity among believers that is brought about by the indwelling Spirit of Christ. The last half of chapter 4 describes "The Christian’s Walk". We looked at The Admonition (17-19)…don’t walk as the unbelievers walk. We studied The Argument (20-24)…if a person has been truly converted, they will receive a new Life Source. (Some of you may not be familiar with the term life source…it simply refers to the underlying power by which a person lives. There only two life sources…divine and human, but only the divine offers life as God intended.) We concluded chapter 4 by discussing The Application (25-32)…what does the Christian’s walk look like in real life.

The first two verses of chapter 5 should be the last two verses of chapter 4 because they are tied directly to the immediately preceding verses where Paul is describing what the Christian walk looks like in real life…walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us…. This theme is continued through verse 14 as Paul urges believers to walk as children of light. In the remaining verses of chapter 5, Paul describes the proper relationship between husbands and wives. We learned that submission has nothing to do with the order of authority, but rather governs the operation of authority; how it is given and how it is received. Jesus tried to teach His disciples not to throw their authority around, but on Thursday night, just before His crucifixion, they were still jockeying for position to see who would be the greatest in this new kingdom. When Jesus washed their feet, He gave them a great demonstration of how to properly use authority.

In the first 4 verses of chapter 6, Paul continues his theme of harmony in our closest relationships by describing how children and parents should properly relate and in the next 5 verses, how employees and employers should properly relate. In verses 10-17, Paul describes the full armor of God that protects and empowers the believer and we discovered that the armor is a wonderful description of Jesus:

Now, let’s look at the final verses in Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians 6:18-24:

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. But that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus (too·khee·kos), the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us, and that he may comfort your hearts. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love. (NASB95)

I’m so glad these verses are included in Ephesians…I’ve needed to study the subject of prayer for a long time, but have continued to find excuses not to do it…this week’s lesson gave me the "nudge" I needed! Frankly, I have been quite confused with the idea of prayer. Let’s look at some verses in the Bible to see if you see what I see:

For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin; yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘ What will we eat?’ or ‘ What will we drink?’ or ‘ What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:25-34 NASB95)

This passage is taken from what we call The Sermon on the Mount…Jesus was speaking to the multitude gathered and to his disciples. Is Jesus saying ask, but don’t worry? Or is he saying, you don’t need to ask or worry because your Father in Heaven already knows what you need?

Further along in that same sermon, Jesus clearly tells His listeners to ask:

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek , and you will find ; knock , and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! (Matthew 7:7-11 NASB95)

Based on what Jesus told His disciples when they asked why he spoke to the people in parables, I know that He was not preoccupied with making everything crystal clear to everybody (Matthew 13:13-17), so maybe these verses are not the best place to discover a "theology of prayer".

In verses 18-20, Paul asks the Ephesian believers to pray; and to pray for him; and to pray for him in a specific area of his life. On the surface, this alone is a sufficient scriptural basis for our praying in the same way. If we dig a little deeper, we’ll find several helpful thoughts on the subject right here in these verses.

The first phrase Paul uses in his request is with all prayer…why would he say that? There are two major categories of prayer: public and private...these can be audible or silent. Of the audible, there are several subcategories of prayer: formal, written, personal or informal. These subcategories of prayer can be further separated by type: supplication (humble entreaty); intersession (entreaty in favor of another); thanksgiving (expressing gratitude); praise and worship (to glorify and reverence); and repenting/confessing (acknowledging a changing of our mind and agreeing with God). There are even several postures that can be assumed in prayer: standing, kneeling, lying face down; sitting; running; swimming; and lying in bed, just to name a few.

The person who only uses prayer as a means of asking God for things, will miss out on the benefits of intercessory prayer and thanksgiving. "Praise changes things" as much as "prayer changes things"! It appears Paul wanted the Ephesians to use all these categories, subcategories and types…all prayer and petition!

The English word prayer used here by Paul is the Greek word proseuche (pros·yoo· khay) used 37 times in the New Testament. It is a word of sacred character that is limited to prayer to God and carries the emotion of devotion. There are two synonyms for this word that also appear in connection with the subject of prayer in the New Testament: deesis (deh ·ay·sis) is used 19 times and is petitionary. It gives prominence to the expression of personal need, and could also be properly addressed to another human. It is the word Paul uses for our English word petition in his opening phrase, with all prayer and petition pray…. The second synonym is enteuxis (ent ·yook·sis) that expresses confiding access to God in childlike confidence by representing prayer as the heart’s conversation with God. It is only used by Paul and only twice in the New Testament (1Timothy 2:1 and 4:5).

The next phrase in Paul’s request is for the Ephesians to pray at all times. I’m reminded of Paul’s similar instruction to the Thessalonians: pray without ceasing…(1 Thessalonians 5:17 NASB95)

I’m quite sure Paul did not envision believers spending all day on their knees. I believe he’s thinking in a very different direction where we are always in communion with the Lord in our minds…where the receiver is always off the hook! Never have to say when you pray, "Lord, we come into Thy presence," because you never left His presence! This concept fits wonderfully with the Christ Life!

The next concept of prayer is found at the end of that first statement: With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit. The New Testament pattern for prayer is to the Father, through the Son and in the Spirit. Paul says in Romans 8:26-27 that only in the Spirit will we be able to pray according to the will of God. Apart from the Spirit, our prayers will be egocentric, selfish and contrary to God’s will.

Paul continues by urging the Ephesians to "pray with their eyes open"…no, not literally, but to be alert as to what is going on around them and to persevere…don’t give up, keep on praying even when you can’t see any change in the situation…God’s timing is not our timing!

Finally, Paul asks the Ephesians to pray for him specifically…notice what he asks them to pray for: …that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Notice he doesn’t ask for them to pray for his deliverance from prison or death. Unlike most of us, Paul understood that all his circumstances, even imprisonment and death, were gifts from God.

So, what have I learned about prayer? If Jesus and Paul needed it, then I’m sure I do even more! How did they pray? We know that Jesus always prayed perfectly…Paul probably didn’t. We know of at least three prayers he prayed without getting his request: Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (2 Corinthians 12:7-9 NASB95)

Unfortunately many Christians view the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13 as the model prayer for us to day…I disagree. I believe there is no model…prayer is to be an honest conversation between friends…us and God, but I believe there is a model ending to all our prayers and it’s found in Luke 22:42 when Jesus finished His prayer in Gethsemane: …yet not my will, but Yours be done.

In the last four verses of Ephesians, Paul authorizes Tychicus (too·khee·kos) to inform them of the details of his situation and then he pronounces a blessing of benediction by conferring upon the believers who love Jesus with an incorruptible love, the peace, love and grace of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Greek is aphtharsia (af·thar· see ·ah) and it means the quality or state of being free from physical decay, but it also carries a spiritual and moral sense…this love is non-deteriorating…it never looses it perfect quality. Only Jesus can provide that kind of love and He does in the lives of all who allow Him to express Himself in and through their lives.

Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians draws their focus to Jesus: He is their wealth, their walk, their faith, their life and their love…He is ours too!

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