Powerful and Effective Prayer

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
James 5:13-16

Seeing people miraculously healed was not a “charismatic” thing for the early church. It was simply a part of what it meant to be a normal Christian. It was one of the fundamental basics of what it meant to follow Jesus. It’s strange that today it is seen as something “extreme” or “strange.” Praying with faith to see the sick person get well is Christianity 101. We should expect to see people get healed in our churches, and we should expect to see it regularly. If it’s not happening, it is an indication that something is wrong with our theology, our faith, or our church culture.

James also indicates the importance of the confession and forgiveness of sin. James helps us understand that unrepented sin can be a hindrance to physical healing. It becomes an area of our lives that is unyielded to the Spirit which can dam up the flow of the Spirit and the gifts of healing (1 Corinthians 12:9).

We also learn from this passage of scripture that living a righteous life is important in becoming a conduit of healing. James says that the prayer of a “righteous person” is powerful and effective. Yet, while many of us long to have prayers that are powerful and effective, many of us don’t want to examine whether we are living a righteous life.

The righteousness that James is talking about here is not the imputed righteousness that we received from Jesus at salvation. In one sense, all Christians have been made perfectly righteous because of Jesus. Our own good works could not save us. Only the righteousness of Jesus that was given to us could save us. We are clothed in His righteousness. 1 Corinthians 1:30 says, “…you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” Romans 5:19 says, “…through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”

But this isn’t the righteousness that James is talking about in this passage. It wouldn’t make any sense if it was. If James was talking about the imputed righteousness of Jesus, then all prayers from all Christians would be equally powerful and effective. If that was true, there would be no point in saying “the prayer of the righteous person is powerful and effective.”

No, what James is talking about is our response to being made righteous. He’s talking about the person who is actually living out righteousness in their lives. James is talking about the person who actually lives out their new identity as new creations in Christ. We must put on the new self and leave the old self behind. Ephesians 4:24 says, “put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

When we live the righteous life, when we choose holiness over sin, when we live out what Jesus made true about us, our prayers gain power and effectiveness. We become a conduit of the Spirit’s power and grace. Just as some conduits have less blockages, less rust, less things in the way that dampen the flow of water or electricity, so too a righteous life clears away things that would otherwise block the flow of the power and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Righteous living comes from ongoing and increasing intimacy with the Lord. That intimacy creates and establishes a trust between us and the Lord. He’s able to trust us with more (more power, more gifts, more healings, more miracles, more revelation, etc.), and we’re able to better hear His voice and yield to His direction. This is another reason the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. There is a closeness between that person and the Lord, a trust that’s been built over time.

If we want to see more healings in our churches, we need to become the kind of people who can be trusted with more. We need to become the kind of conduits that allow the increasing flow of the Spirit without the dampening effect of sin. We need to become the righteous people who have powerful and effective prayers.

Demonic Faith

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
James 2:19

In a polytheistic culture, there were some who thought it was enough to be monotheistic. They believed in the one true God, but they weren’t expressing that belief through obedient surrender to Jesus and faithful action. James was challenging their self-congratulatory complacency.

Demons believe in God. They know He exists. They believe in Jesus in the sense that they acknowledge His existence and are terrified of Him. They shudder at His name and squirm under His authority. They don’t like to be around God’s Presence or anyone who carries God’s Presence through the Holy Spirit. The fire of the Lord burns them and the Light of Christ blinds them. While they are completely comfortable around nominal Christians and at home in religious settings void of the Spirit, they despise Christians filled with the Spirit and on fire for the Lord.

I’ve heard a number of people say, “I believe in God; I just don’t like organized religion.” By this they usually mean they have a generic belief in God that doesn’t require anything from them and doesn’t impact the way they live life. Their “faith” without action is dead (James 2:26). This kind of faith is no occasion for self-congratulations or pride. This faith just barely reaches the level of demonic faith. This person has about as much confidence and trust in God as the demons. Not exactly something to be excited about.

James reminds us that just as our spirit expresses itself through our body, our faith expresses itself through action. To take active risks and live in obedient trust is the life of faith. To call oneself a competitive athlete and yet never do any physical activity doesn’t line up. Likewise, to call oneself a follower of Jesus and yet never express our faith through action doesn’t line up. At the very least we should challenge ourselves to have faith that surpasses that of the demons.

Average Christians

Notice how the writer of Hebrews describes average followers of Jesus. He describes them as people who have…

…been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age…
Hebrews 6:4-5

So here is what the writer of Hebrews expects from the average believer:

They’ve been enlightened. They think differently now. They have set their minds on things above. They have experienced a renewal of the mind.
They’ve tasted the heavenly gift. This is a reference to the Holy Spirit, the Kingdom of God, and salvation. In other words, they have the Holy Spirit and have experienced salvation.
They’ve shared in or have partaken in the Holy Spirit. So, beyond just having the Holy Spirit, they’ve partnered with the Spirit. They are actively engaging with the Spirit and with the gifts of the Spirit.
They’ve tasted the goodness of the word of God. They are convinced that God is good and that God’s word is good. They have been regularly and profoundly impacted by the word of God. They trust the word of God.
They’ve tasted the powers of the coming age. The New Testament envisions two ages: 1) “this age” (the one we are in now, human history as we know it) and 2) “the age to come” (the point at which eternity begins, there is a new heaven and new earth, God dwells with humanity and Jesus brings the fullness of the Kingdom of God). Through the Presence and power of the Holy Spirit we get to experience powers that exist in the coming age, but we get to experience them right now! This is part of what it means for the Spirit to be a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. This is the power Jesus told His disciples to wait for in Jerusalem (Luke 24:49).

As we look at this list, is this what the average believer looks like today? Is this what the American church is full of? If not, we need a new standard!

Renewal by the Holy Spirit

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior,
Titus 3:3-6

Paul believes in the “before and after” power of the gospel. We see Paul write a few different times in the New Testament the reality of real transformation from one way of life–our old self–into a completely new way of life–our new self. We see him lay this out similarly to the Corinthian Christians who formerly lived as pagans:

Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11

When God’s mercy and kindness step in, when we receive Jesus as Savior, we are transformed by grace. Paul tells us in his letter to Titus that the Holy Spirit does two things: 1) rebirth and 2) renewal. Rebirth is when the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us and justifies us–makes us in right standing before God.

But renewal is a different process. Renewal by the Spirit is a process of sanctification. One of the things that can happen in this renewal process of the Holy Spirit is a flooding of the Spirit often referred to as baptism of the Holy Spirit.

There’s been a lot of confusion and misinformation about the baptism of the Spirit in the Church. What is it, exactly?

I had been a Christian since I was 9, called into ministry at 17, I had a degree in Biblical Studies, a Masters of Divinity from seminary, and had been a pastor of a church for a decade. And while I had experienced the gradual process of sanctification in my life over those years, I had not experienced the baptism of the Spirit. And then I did.

The baptism of the Spirit is not when you get more of the Spirit, but when He gets more of you. And because He floods your life in ways that are new, it feels like you have more of Him.

What is the baptism of the Spirit like?

For me it was like walking out into the ocean of the Spirit. At first, the water levels rose gradually the further I went. But then I got far enough out that a wave crashed over me and overwhelmed me. Many people identify this moment when a wave of the Spirit crashes over them as their baptism in the Spirit. I tend to think it was the whole process (the walking out, the gradual increase and then the crash of the wave). That process started in June of 2014 and the wave crashing happened March 4 & 5 of 2016.

So what happened?

When the Spirit flooded my life, a few different things happened:

I experienced what are called “manifestations of the Spirit.” This is the tangible presence of the Spirit in or on your body that causes physical reactions in your body. Some traditions believe that, for one to truly be baptized in the Spirit, you have to experience the manifestation of speaking in tongues (like what we see in Acts 2 and Acts 10), but that is not true. I did not start praying in tongues until 6 months later. But I did start experiencing different manifestations of the Spirit.
I experienced a massive increase in intimacy with the Lord. He felt close all the time, tangibly close. He still does.
I experienced a renewal of the mind. Unbelief, cynicism, and skepticism were washed away in the flood and uprooted from my thinking. I now had a greater understanding of God as the loving Father that He really is.
I experienced deliverance. I had some demonic attachments in my life that were removed. Victory over sin was no longer hypothetical but became a reality in my daily life.
I experienced a massive increase in hunger for the Lord. I couldn’t get enough time in worship, time in prayer, time reading His word. I craved more and more time with Him. I still do. God’s word came alive to me in ways that it hadn’t in decades.
I experienced brand new gifts of the Holy Spirit. I began to experience the seedling form of a few different gifts (gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12) that up until that point I had never experienced. I also knew that I had to grow in these new gifts to see these seedlings become trees that bear fruit.
I experienced the power of the Spirit. I began to see the power of God flow through me, especially as I spoke and as I prayed for people. I began to see people get healed instantly, right in front of me. I began to see demons leave people at the name of Jesus.
I experienced the authority of Christ. As I began to understand who I really was in Christ, my sonship to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, I began to walk in greater authority. This means my confidence in seeing God’s Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven was greatly increased.
I experienced the love of the Father. I began to have encounters with the Lord where I would actually feel God’s love for me. This was not just the knowledge that God loved me unconditionally. This was way beyond that! This was an experience of His love. It was, and still is, completely captivating and overwhelming.

So, yes, baptism of the Spirit is a real thing. It often is a secondary event (after salvation), but I believe it was never meant to be that way. I believe God always intended the baptism of the Spirit to happen with our baptism in water, but for so many of us that is not the case. Baptism of the Spirit, like most parts of the renewal process, must be pursued. It doesn’t just happen by accident. We must pursue it, seek it, and ask for it.

And the flooding of the Spirit is not a one time event. I believe that the first of these floodings (or fillings) can be called our baptism of the Spirit. But there are more available to us after that and so we must continue to pursue Him.

Torn

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
Mark 15:37-39

The Temple had three main parts to it. First, the priests would put burnt offerings on the bronze altar in the courtyard. The courtyard is also where they would then wash with water in the wash basin made of polished bronze mirrors.

Then they would go from the courtyard into the second part of the Temple: the Holy Place. The Holy Place had gold plating all over the walls. There weren’t any windows in there, so the whole place was illuminated by the burning lamps on the lampstands. In addition to the lampstands, there was also the golden table that held the bread of Presence and the altar of incense just in front of the large curtain at the front of the room. They would burn incense every morning and every evening on the small altar of incense as a symbol of prayers going up continually before the Lord.

The priests would keep the lamps burning, light the incense morning and night, and replace the bread of Presence every sabbath, but they would never go beyond the curtain. Only the High Priest could go beyond the curtain into the Most Holy Place, and he would only do it once a year on the Day of Atonement. The very Presence of God was resting on the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy Place. To enter in an unsanctified way without permission would have resulted in the priest dropping dead before our awesome and holy God.

When Jesus paid the price on the cross for our sin, He forever removed the separation between us and God. That curtain between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place was torn in two from top to bottom. The people were no longer separated from God, and God was no longer separated from the people. “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ”(2 Corinthians 5:19).

And now, not only can we approach the throne of grace with confidence (Hebrews 4:16), but God Himself has busted out of the Most Holy Place to establish a new Temple. Paul reminds the Corinthian Christians, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”(1 Corinthians 3:16).

The new Most Holy Place, where the very Presence of God dwells, is our spirit. Our spirit “marries” and becomes one with the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17).

The new Holy Place is our soul–our mind, will and emotions. Our mind is the new altar of incense where our thoughts and prayers continually rise to the Father (Colossians 3:2; Philipians 4:8) . Our will is the new bread of Presence as we get nourished by doing the Father’s will, not our own (John 4:31-34). Our heart/emotions are the new lampstands giving light to the rest of our soul. The “eyes of our heart” become “enlightened”(Ephesians 1:19) and the purity of the oil burning in our heart gives us eyes to see God (Matthew 5:8).

The new courtyard is our body, the place we offer our bodies as a “living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God”(Romans 12:1). This is the place where we are not only forgiven of our sin but also “cleansed from all unrighteousness”(1 John 1:9) as we are “washed with water through the word”(Ephesians 5:26).

The curtain tearing from top to bottom not only gave us full access to God, but gave Him full access to us. “You are not your own; you were bought at a price”(1 Corinthians 6:19-20). In Christ, you are a Temple of the Holy Spirit, the new Temple of the Living God.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:23

In Every Way

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:15-16

This verse reminds us that Jesus is able to understand our weaknesses and our temptations, and yet He did not sin. Because of this, we can be confident as we approach God in our time of need. In God’s Presence we will find mercy and grace, not condemnation and judgement.

Inevitably, however, someone will read this passage and wonder, “How was Jesus tempted in every way, just as we are? I know we are to take this to mean He completely understands our situation, but what if Jesus was never in our situation? Jesus didn’t have to face infidelity, abusive parents, or addiction. He never had to parent a prodigal child or lose a child to cancer, stillbirth, or miscarriage. Jesus may have faced similar things, but He doesn’t REALLY know what it is like to go through what I am going through. He hasn’t faced the hardships, temptations, and weaknesses I face.”

Typically, then, there is a response about how God is omniscient and knows everything, and so Jesus does really know what we are going through. But omniscience in this case feels distant. It feels like a kind of knowing but not a full knowing because it’s not down in the muck of life. It feels, somehow, lofty and erudite but not intimate. We want God to have intimate knowledge of our experience, not aloof omniscience.

A couple weeks ago I was driving around the Baltimore beltway contemplating all of this, and the Lord revealed something to me. I felt the Lord say, “Mark, it’s not just that I am omniscient. I am all-knowing, and that would be enough to intimately understand you. But my love for you went even further. I have been dwelling in every believer in Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, for over 2000 years. I have intimate, God-with-us knowledge of each moment of the life of every believer. From the time they gave their life to Jesus to the time that they died, I intimately experienced every moment, every thought, every hurt, every temptation with them.”

Let that sink in. Every Christian, all over the world, for over 2000 years. The Holy Spirit has intimate, firsthand, personal knowledge of every moment. If Jesus Christ is “God with us”(Matthew 1:23), then the Holy Spirit is “Christ in you, the hope of glory”(Colossians 1:27). That’s why the Holy Spirit’s nickname is “the Spirit of Christ”(Romans 8:9-10). And we know, “The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God”(1 Corinthians 2:10). So the Holy Spirit has been the divine link–communicating the things of God to us but also the “things of us” to God.

We can be sure, there is no one who understands us better than God. He knows our weaknesses, our struggles, the hardships and temptations we face. He knows us not in a distant way, but in a way that is up close and personal. His omniscience is not aloof but intimate. He knows…in the deepest, most personal way. He knows.

Into Practice

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:9

Sometimes Christians wonder why they aren’t experiencing more peace in their life. After all, they believe the gospel, they believe in Jesus, yet they wonder where their peace has gone. We get a clue as to what happened in this passage.

The pathway to peace is putting it into practice. It’s not enough to learn, to receive, to hear or to see the gospel on display. We must actually take it and apply it to our daily life. When we put it into practice, when we obey–when we live it out–that is when we experience the God of peace who is with us.

For example, it’s not enough to learn that we must forgive because we are forgiven. It’s not enough to receive forgiveness and hear about forgiveness. It’s not enough to see forgiveness in action. All of those things help us gain understanding about what forgiveness is and why it is important, but they won’t bring us peace until we actually forgive the person who hurt us. It’s when we “put it into practice” that we experience the God of peace fill our hearts and minds with peace.

So if there is unrest or the absence of peace in an area of our life, we have to ask ourselves if we are putting the gospel into practice in that area. Often it is as simple as sitting quietly for a few minutes, listening to worship music, and asking the Holy Spirit to reveal anything that we aren’t putting into practice. Once the Holy Spirit brings it to the surface, thank Him, ask for forgiveness, and ask what it looks like to put it into practice. Don’t be surprised if you see pictures in your mind’s eye or hear thoughts that clarify what to do next.

Filled with Light

Paul reminds the Ephesians that they “are now light in the Lord,” and so he tells them, “Live as children of the light”(Ephesians 5:8). He then lists what living in the light is and what it isn’t.

In order to live as light:

find out what pleases the Lord (verse 10)
have nothing to do with deeds of darkness (verse 11)
expose deeds of darkness (verse 11 & 13)
be careful how you live–not as unwise but as wise (verse 15)
make the most of every opportunity (verse 16)
do not be foolish (verse 17)
understand what the Lord’s will is (verse 17)
do not get drunk (verse 18)
be filled with the Spirit (verse 18)
speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (verse 19)
sing and make music in your heart to the Lord (verse 19)
always give thanks (verse 20)

This list is directed to those who have already been made new, who Paul already called “light in the Lord.” Paul is teaching Christians how to walk out their faith.

That’s what makes #9 so interesting. He commands (with a passive imperative) those who already have the Holy Spirit to “be filled with the Spirit.” Passive imperatives show up throughout Scripture. It is a command (that’s the imperative part) that you have to let someone else do to you (that’s the passive part). So, for instance, “be baptized” is a passive imperative. You are commanded to do it, but it is something someone else has to do to you.

The command to “be filled” is the same. We are commanded to be filled with the Spirit but the actual filling is something the Lord has to do. In water baptism, our job is to position ourselves–make ourselves available–to surrender to the other person baptizing us. The same is true for being filled with the Spirit. We surrender our lives in such a way that we are in a posture to receive an increase of Holy Spirit as He fills out our whole life with His Presence.

This command lets us know unequivocally that just having the Spirit is not the same as being filled with the Spirit. According to Scripture, they are two distinct situations. And I would suggest that the reason much of the American Church is riddled with sin, living powerless lives, is because many, if not most, are not filled with the Spirit.

We were only taught that we needed the Holy Spirit to be saved. We were never taught that to walk in holiness, purity, and freedom from sin we needed to be filled with the Spirit. We were never taught that in order to walk in the miraculous power of God we had to be filled with the Spirit.

Just as salvation is an event that happens (we were saved) and an ongoing process (we are being saved), being filled with the Spirit is both an event that happens (often separate from salvation) and an ongoing process. Like a waterfall that reveals a wider section of the river, being filled with the Spirit is both that moment of being deluged by the waterfall, and it is the process of traveling down the new section of the river.

Ephesian Prayer (Part 2)

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian Christians continues:

being rooted and established in love,may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:17-21

Paul has been praying that the Father would take some power out of His storehouse of glorious riches and distribute it to followers of Jesus through the Holy Spirit for their inner strengthening. This is a strengthening that would allow Christ to dwell on the throne of their hearts in at atmosphere of faith.

Now Paul transitions to the connections between power and love. Because they’ve already surrendered their lives to Jesus, they are now rooted and established (or grounded) in love. The foundation of their house has been laid and the material used was love. The starting line of their journey of faith has the letters L – O – V – E spray-painted across it. The grace and love of the Father is the foundation of their life in Christ.

Yet, what we learn from Paul’s prayer is that there is more! This power that Paul is asking the Father to release will actually empower them to grasp or comprehend something that is incomprehensible. You see, the love of Christ isn’t just the foundation of the mansion; it’s also the wide corridors, the long hallways, the deep cellar, the multi-story high ceiling. His love is not only the beginning, but it’s also the end and everything in-between. The love of Christ is our starting line, it’s what sustains us on the journey, and it’s what is waiting for us at the finish. This kind of love is so expansive that it “surpasses knowledge.” The only way “to know this love that surpasses knowledge” is with a download of the supernatural power of God.

The beautiful thing is that as the Father’s power gets poured out on us, we begin, little by little, to comprehend this incomprehensible love. And as we do, we begin to get filled from the inside out with “all the fullness of God.” A couple chapters later Paul will remind them of this as he gives the Ephesian Christians the command to “be filled with the Spirit”(Ephesians 5:18).

Both this prayer to be filled with the fullness of God and the command to be filled with the Spirit are given to Christians who already have the Spirit. In other words, there is always more of God, more of the Spirit, to experience. The Holy Spirit is a person, not a liquid or a force, so it’s not like we get “more” of Him over time. What happens is that He gets more of us. Like a fragrant incense filling every room of the house, He begins to pervade every part of us. As we surrender every room of our life to Him, rooms that have already been purchased by Christ, the Spirit fills them with more and more of the characteristics of Christ, the fullness of God.

When the Spirit comes to fill us, he brings with him all the fullness of God, causing an overflow from the inside out. That’s why Paul writes next, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” Paul is asking that the Ephesians be filled with the full measure of God and knows that, when God comes to fill His people with His Spirit, there is no limit to what can happen. God can do more in and through filled Christians than we can even imagine.

And when He does, all the glory goes back to Him. It’s not about the Christians that are used so powerfully but about the God who, in His generosity and love, was so pleased to use them. To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesian Prayer

Notice how Paul prays for the Ephesians:

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
Ephesians 3:14-17

Ephesians 3 is a chapter of the Bible that one could spend a whole year unpacking. It is so full, each sentence packed with powerful truths. And all these truths are elegantly woven together by Paul in a symphony of word pictures. This prayer gives us just a taste of it.

For this reason: this phrase connects the prayer he’s about to write with what he has just finished discussing. He’s just completed a section where he explained that the mystery of the Gentiles being included in the gospel is part of the “unsearchable riches of Christ”(Ephesians 3:8). It is not something one could just learn from study. Paul said this mystery had to be “made known to me by revelation”(Ephesians 3:3). And though Paul was the “less than the least”(Ephesians 3:8) of God’s people, God gave Paul “the gift of grace” to preach this mystery among the Gentiles in order to make it “plain to everyone”(Ephesians 3:7-9). So it is “for this reason” that he kneels before the Father to pray for them.

Out of His glorious riches: God’s Kingdom is a Kingdom of abundance. There is always more than enough when it comes to God’s provision. He never struggles with resources whether they are physical, emotional or spiritual. Imagine a massive storehouse of riches that the Father has continual access to. That is God in His Kingdom. There is always more than enough with God.

Strengthen you with power: Paul’s prayer is that the Father would reach back and grab some power out of His storehouse of glorious riches, and that He would send that power to each person Paul is praying for. This power would be sent so that they can be strengthened. But where and how are they strengthened by this power?

Through His Spirit in your inner being: God will bring this strength to the Ephesian believers by giving it to them through the Holy Spirit in their inner being. The strength that will hit them will be an internal strength, a strength of the mind, will and emotions. Some might call it an internal fortitude. This inner strength will come when the Father sends His power, through the Holy Spirit, to each believer.

So that Christ can dwell in your hearts through faith: What is the purpose of sending this power to increase the internal fortitude of the believer? The hope is that this inner strength, coming through the Holy Spirit, will allow Christ to dwell in their hearts through faith. Christ dwelling in their hearts here isn’t about salvation. They are already believers who have the Holy Spirit. Since their spirits have already been united with the Holy Spirit, this is about their souls (mind, will and emotions) being surrendered to Christ.

The idea of Christ “dwelling” is in contrast to Christ “coming and going.” Another way of saying it is that as this power comes and creates an internal strengthening, faith will rise up and allow their soul (mind, will and emotions) to be in continual submission to Christ. Their obedience to Christ will not be occasional; it will not “come and go.” He will, in a sense, have permanent residence on the throne of their hearts because of the atmosphere of faith there.

One final thing to note is that all of this comes from being in the family of God. It comes as inheritance. It comes because of our relational connection to the Father. We can receive this strengthening power in our inner being through the Holy Spirit, establishing Christ as permanently on the throne of our hearts, because we have the same last name as the Father.