Paul's Ephesians 3 Prayer

Illustration of Paul's Ephesians 3 Prayer
Writing from a Roman prison cell, the apostle Paul prayed for believers he might never see again - asking God to give them something beyond knowledge: the power to comprehend a love that surpasses understanding.

In the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul, writing from Roman imprisonment around 60-62 AD, offers this intercessory prayer for the Gentile believers in Ephesus amid his broader discussion of the church's unity in Christ. He petitions God the Father to strengthen them inwardly through the Holy Spirit, root them in love, and grant them power to grasp the immeasurable breadth, length, height, and depth of Christ's love that surpasses knowledge. This prayer matters because it models how believers should prioritize spiritual empowerment and intimate comprehension of divine realities over mere external circumstances or trials. Its significance in Scripture lies in revealing the transformative goal of being filled with God's fullness, influencing Christian theology on prayer, sanctification, and the boundless nature of redemptive love.

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Details

Category
Intercession
Prayed by
Paul

Key Chapters

Ephesians 3 The Mystery of the Gospel 3 min read This prayer encourages us to seek God's strength and to grasp the vastness of Ch...

Key Passages

The Prayer

Ephesians 3:14-21

This prayer encourages us to seek God's strength and to grasp the vastness of Christ's love that surpasses knowledge.

F14or this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Explore Related

Characters 1

Paul Paul, originally known as Saul of Tarsus, was a zealous Pharisee who actively persecuted early Christiansโ€ฆ

Themes 3

Prayer From Moses on the mountain to Jesus in the garden, prayer is the lifeline between heaven and earth. Everyโ€ฆ Love The Bible mentions love over 500 times - from God's fierce love for Israel to the sacrificial loveโ€ฆ Mercy Mercy in the Bible is not weakness - it is the deliberate choice of the all-powerful to spare the guilty.โ€ฆ

Did You Know?

1

Paul prayed for believers to know a love that surpasses knowledge - a deliberate paradox.

2

He asked for them to be filled with 'all the fullness of God' - an impossible request made to an infinite God.

3

The prayer ends with a doxology declaring God can do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think.