A Pastor’s Prayer
Ephesians 1:15-23
Introduction
Who was the Apostle Paul? Well, he was the author of much of the New Testament. He was a church planter and missionary. He was a theologian and a deep thinker. But Paul was also a pastor. If you read Paul’s letters, you will see that he had a cranky side. He was not the Mr. Rogers type of pastor with the cardigan and slippers. Paul was a call-it-as-it-is kind of pastor. In fact, the times when Paul seems the must grumpy is when he sees his church threatened from without or within. Paul had a pastor’s heart. And that meant that he prayed for the Christians under his care. But his prayer was not a simple God bless them. Paul prayed a prayer that reflected how he felt for them, the dreams that he had for them as a church. Paul says he remembers them in his prayers. He does not mean that he is having his prayer time and then suddenly remembers that he is supposed to pray for some church. What he means is he chooses to recall this church in his prayers, they are important enough for him to include in his communication with God. We also see that this is a prayer of thanks. But what is really interesting is it seems as if he is asking God for something. This is what is beautiful about this prayer, when things are right, even the prayer of petition is a prayer of thanksgiving. Let us look at Paul’s pastoral prayer.
Knowledge
As children prepare to go back to school, we are reminded of the importance of knowledge. I have an office that is full of books, not to impress people or to decorate my walls, but because I desire more knowledge. The Apostle Paul was someone who valued knowledge as well. Paul was from the city of Tarsus, a city famous for its Greek learning. Paul was also trained by one of the top rabbis of his day. It does not take long in reading his letters to discover that Paul was extremely intelligent. It is no surprise that Paul would desire greater knowledge for the church. However, Paul’s prayer is not that they would have more books. His prayer is that they would have a spirit of wisdom and revelation. What does that mean? Does Paul envision a church that does not study but rather sits in meditation, waiting for revelation from above? That is not what Paul did and that is not what he teaches elsewhere. However, Paul knows that learning about God takes more than just reading a book. We need guidance from God. This is not a substitute for reading the Bible, reading other books, talking with Christians or reflecting on nature. Rather, God’s Spirit brings these things all together and opens our eyes and our hearts to what we would not normally see. Once, this is accomplished, what will we have? The purpose is not just to gain new information about God. The ultimate purpose is that we know God better. What we are looking for is a deeper relationship with God. However, that does not mean the we are only looking for emotional experiences with God. Think about your desire to have a better relationship with your spouse, children or friends. You ask them questions about what they are doing, where they have been, what is on their mind. You take this information about the person and it gets processed into actually knowing them better. The same is true with God. You might be in your kitchen and see a glass of water with ice cubes in it while at the same time there is a kettle boiling. Your eyes might be opened as to how one substance can be in three different forms at the same time and see a picture of the Trinity and how one God is the Father, Son and Spirit. You will have a better understanding of the doctrine, but hopefully that is transformed into a deeper relationship with the God you know better.
Hope
We must come to know God better. But there is so much more that we must know. One of the other things that Paul prays for is that they might know the Christian hope. We live in a day when atheism has taken aim at Christianity. Atheists are writing best-selling books, speaking to packed auditoriums, putting signs on buses, offering camps for atheist children and recently even getting their own atheist Bible. Some atheists look at us and do more than just disagree or even laugh at us. Some atheists are calling for religion to be removed from society as a dangerous menace. There is much that I could say about their truth claims. Whatever the philosophical arguments pro or con for atheism, there is one thing that it lacks and that is hope. Think of the atheistic worldview. They believe in a universe that just popped into existence without any purpose. Life on this planet began as a random mixing of chemicals. We as humans are the result of a long process of evolution, the survival of the fittest, a world where virtue is the strong kill the weak. The purpose of life? There is no purpose for life. All you can do is try and tip the scales in favor have having more pleasure than pain. Even then, it really does not matter. Then you die and that is the end. Where is the hope in that? What is the Christian worldview? We believe that God created the heavens and the earth. We believe that God created us in his image, that we are his workmanship, prepared for his purposes. We believe in a God that raises up the weak and humbles the strong. We believe that God has a purpose for our lives. We can experience purpose in this life as we discover his call on us and seek to live that out in faithfulness. Then we die. But that is still not the end. We will not be disembodied spirits floating around like wisps of fog. We will be raised in the resurrection and continue to serve God for eternity. Paul desires that the Ephesians know that hope. Not just as a doctrine to mark off in agreement but to allow that hope to fuel their passion to serve God.
Power
We need to know God and we need to have hope. But there is one more thing that Paul desires that the Ephesians know and that is God’s power. How we live as a Christian reflects how we see God. Is God a grandfather figure who sits up in heaven, rocking on his chair, watching life go on, nodding at our strange behavior, perhaps smiling when one of his children does something cute? Paul reminds us here that God is a God of power. Not just power but incomparably great power. There is an interesting story in the Old Testament. Moses was called to lead the Hebrews out of Egyptian slavery and this was to be accompanied by miraculous signs. What is interesting is that the Egyptian sorcerers were able to duplicate to an extent the first couple of signs. There are certain kinds of parlor tricks that can get some attention but that really do not matter. That is not the kind of power that Paul is talking about. To illustrate that, Paul points to God’s power that raised Christ from the dead. What kind of power was that? It was not like a doctor who gets someone barely alive or even someone who has been dead for a few minutes and then resuscitates them. Jesus was really dead and he was dead for a couple of days. God did not just get his heart beating and lungs breathing again. Jesus was resurrected, that is transformed into a body built for eternity. Jesus did not go off and get old and sick and die again. Jesus was raised up to heaven and given authority over all creation. That is the kind of power God has. Paul’s prayer is that Christians would know that is the kind of power available to work in our life. Do you feel weak? Do you feel like you just do not have what it takes to survive? Is life too much? God’s power, the power that worked to raise Christ from the dead and to raise him above all authority, is available to work in your life. We cannot predict what that will look like, but we can trust that God’s power will be more than sufficient to get us through whatever we face.
Conclusion
I always struggle with what to say in conclusion. So instead of just telling you what I just told you, I will pray for you. I am thankful for you as a congregation to pastor. It is easy for me to pray for you as you are close to my heart and I care about what happens. As much as I want to pray for your practical needs, your sick loved ones, your friends and family going through a hard time, I also want to pray for you as Paul prayed for his congregation. I eagerly desire that you know God. Yes, I want you to know more about him, I want you to study the Bible and read good books and think about who God is. But I really, really want you to know God. I want you to experience him and trust him and know that he is there for you. I want you to have hope. There are mornings that all of us wake up in the morning and wonder: what’s the use? It is easy to fall into hopelessness. But I pray that you will know that there is hope. God has a plan for you. He created you for a purpose and that purpose will fulfill you more than anything else the world has to offer. I also pray that you will know God’s power. I know that you feel weak sometimes. I know that you wonder if you have what it takes to get through another day. God has power. Mighty power. Awesome power. And that power can work in your life. The incredible thing is that it is when we feel the weakest that God’s power is the most manifest. I pray that you will experience this power. None of this will happen in a day and so I will continue to pray for you. May God’s knowledge, hope and power flow over you. In Jesus‘ name. Amen.
