Phil Rowlands

Hello, my friends!

Have you ever felt that your relationship with Jesus has become a bit stale? Perhaps you remember those early days of your faith journey when everything felt fresh and exciting, but now it seems like you're just going through the motions. Well, I've got some good news for you today! We're going to investigate a powerful prayer from the Apostle Paul that can help reignite your experience of Christ in your daily life.

Friends, let's turn our attention to Ephesians chapter 3, verses 14-21. Here, Paul is praying for the church at Ephesus, and his words are just as relevant for us today. He's not asking God to solve all their problems or make their lives easier. No, he's praying for something much more profound – he's asking that they might truly experience the depths of Christ's love and presence in their lives.

Now, before we look into the specifics of Paul's prayer, let's take a moment to consider why this is so important. You see, our Christian walk is meant to be both objective and subjective. We need solid, foundational truths to build our lives upon – truths that can withstand any storm. But we also need a living, breathing relationship with Jesus. It's not enough to just know about Him; we need to know Him personally.

Paul starts his prayer by asking “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16). Friends, this is so crucial! We often focus on our outer selves – our appearance, our health, our material possessions. But Paul is reminding us that we have an inner man, a spiritual part of ourselves that needs to be nurtured and strengthened.

Think about it this way: your body has an immune system that fights off germs and viruses. Well, your inner man needs a spiritual immune system too! When we neglect our inner selves, we become vulnerable to discouragement, doubt, and temptation. But when we allow the Holy Spirit to strengthen us from within, we become resilient in the face of life's challenges.

The Apostle Paul understood this well. In 2 Corinthians 4:16, he writes, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.” Isn't that encouraging? While our physical bodies may be ageing, our inner selves can be continually renewed and strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Friends, this strengthening of the inner man doesn't happen automatically. It requires our participation. We need to cultivate habits that allow the Holy Spirit to work in us. This might include regular prayer, meditation on God's Word, and fellowship with other believers. As we do these things, we create space for God to work in our lives, strengthening us from the inside out.

The next part of Paul's prayer is that “Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Ephesians 3:17a). Now, you might be thinking, “But doesn't Christ already live in me?” Well, yes and no. When we become Christians, we become new creations, and through that new creation person that we are, Jesus is living within us as part of our spirits. But Paul is praying that Christ would dwell in our hearts – our emotions, our thoughts, our day-to-day experiences. He's talking about an ongoing, intimate fellowship with Jesus.

This idea of Christ dwelling in our hearts reminds me of Revelation 3:20, where Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” This isn't just about initial salvation; it's about daily communion with Christ. It's about inviting Him into every aspect of our lives – our joys, our sorrows, our decisions, our relationships.

Friends, this isn't about working harder or trying to earn God's presence. Notice that Paul says it happens “through faith.” It's about choosing to open our hearts to Jesus each day, inviting Him into every aspect of our lives. It's saying, “Lord, I want to walk with You today. I want to experience Your presence in everything I do.”

Paul then prays that we would be “rooted and grounded in love” (Ephesians 3:17b). This is so important to understand. He's not talking about our love for God, but God's love for us. You see, our love is fickle and unreliable. One day we have Jesus front and centre in our view; the next, we're distracted by self or the world, not giving Him much attention at all. But God's love for us is constant, unchanging, and eternal.

When we truly have a revelation of God's immeasurable love, it changes everything. It gives us a solid foundation that can withstand any storm. Remember what Jesus said in John 15:9? “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.” That's the kind of love we're talking about – a love that existed before the foundation of the world and will continue for all eternity.

Friends, have you truly grasped the depth of God's love for you? It's not based on your performance or your goodness. It's not something you have to earn or maintain. It's a love that chose you before you were born, that pursued you even when you were far from God, and that will never let you go. When we start to comprehend this love, it transforms how we see ourselves and how we relate to others.

Paul goes on to pray that we “may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge” (Ephesians 3:18-19a). This is where things get really exciting! Paul is praying that we would experience the full dimensions of God's love.

Think about it: The width of God's love is so vast that it encompasses people from every nation, tribe, and tongue. Revelation 5:9 tells us that Jesus has redeemed people “out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” No one is beyond the reach of God's love!

The length of His love stretches from eternity past to eternity future. Jeremiah 31:3 says, “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” God's love for you didn't start when you first believed – it has always been there, and it will always be there.

The depth of His love is seen in how far Christ was willing to go for us. Philippians 2:8 tells us that Jesus “humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” He descended to the lowest depths to rescue us from sin and death.

And the height of His love? It lifts us up from our fallen state and seats us with Christ in heavenly places! Ephesians 2:6 says that God “raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” That's how high His love lifts us!

But notice that Paul says we comprehend this “with all the saints.” We weren't meant to experience God's love in isolation. It's in community, in relationship with other believers, that we truly begin to grasp the multifaceted nature of God's love. Each of us experiences and reflects God's love in unique ways, and as we share those experiences with each other, our understanding grows.

Friends, this journey of discovering the dimensions of God's love is not a one-time event. It's a lifelong adventure. Each day brings new opportunities to experience different facets of His love. Sometimes we might be overwhelmed by its width, other times by its length, depth, or height. And as we grow in our understanding, we become more capable of reflecting that love to others.

Paul's prayer doesn't stop there. He concludes by asking “that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19b). Now, if that sounds impossible, you're right! In our own strength, we could never contain the fullness of God. But Paul reminds us that God “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20).

What does it mean to be filled with the fullness of God? It means allowing Christ to live through us, to express His nature through our personalities. It means becoming more and more like Jesus in our thoughts, attitudes, and actions. It's not about trying harder to be good, but about yielding ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Imagine a life where love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (the fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23) are not things we strive for, but natural outflows of the fullness of God within us. This is what Paul is praying for, and it's what God desires for each of us.

Friends, this is the heart of what it means to experience Christ. It's not just about having correct doctrine or following a set of rules. It's about having a living, dynamic relationship with Jesus that transforms us from the inside out. It's about allowing His love to so fill us that it overflows to those around us.

As we reflect on Paul's prayer, let's consider how we can apply these truths to our daily lives. It's one thing to understand these concepts intellectually, but it's another to truly live them out. We can start by making time each day to be strengthened in our inner man. This might involve prayer, reading God's Word, or simply sitting quietly in God's presence. As we do this, we can consciously invite Christ into every aspect of our day. Whether we're at work, with family, or alone, we can practise awareness of His presence.

Another powerful practice is to meditate on God's love for us. We could choose a scripture that speaks of His love and reflect on it throughout the day. As we grow in our understanding of God's love, it's important to share our experiences with other believers. Through this sharing, we'll find our own understanding deepening. Finally, we can look for opportunities to reflect God's love to others. As we've been loved, so we can love others. These practices aren't about perfection, but about intentionally creating space in our lives for a deeper experience of Christ.

Be blessed today, my brothers and sisters, for as we grow in our understanding and experience of Christ's love, we become more fully who God created us to be. We become living testimonies of His grace and love to a world that desperately needs it. May we all continue to grow in our experience of Christ, rooted and grounded in His love, filled with His fullness, and overflowing with His grace to the world around us. And may we never cease to be amazed at the incredible love and power of our Father in Heaven.

Phil