The focus of this chapter is yet another powerful and personal prayer. It follows on from his great exhortation (2:19-22) for us to live from our position in Christ as a transformed people empowered by His Spirit living in us. His language is powerful. We are a dwelling place for God fulfilling the promise Jesus made (14:23) that if we love Him and obey Him then God will come and make ‘our home with him’. He will live in us – the way He does this is by His Spirit (Rom 5:5) as we welcome Him (Luke 11:13).

But before he prays, Paul is reminded about his own encounter with God and wants to encourage the Christians in and around Ephesus, especially the Gentile (non-Jew) believers, that despite his sufferings and prison chains, God is still sovereign and working his purposes out. Now, he is working his purposes out through us.

Amazingly our purpose in life is to declare to the entire universe – including the angels – the manifold wisdom of God. The Greek for ‘manifold’ is multi-faceted, weaving something of great beauty, complexity and intimacy – picture a beautiful tapestry. From the back a tapestry can look like a series of disconnected threads, but viewed from the front a very different picture emerges.

Do not be discouraged today by the disconnected threads in your life. Trust in the One who is weaving His way, working His purposes out. In all things God works for your good …or as Paul puts it here, for your glory (v13).

So, finally, Paul prays. He prays for us to receive power – in the Greek a word that gives us dynamite. It’s the power from on high promised by Jesus (Luke 24:49) and received by the first believers (Act 2:4). Its power received through the Spirit. It is synonymous with God’s love. The power of love. The power of being loved. The power of knowing that I am loved.

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Action:

Again, make this prayer your own. Put your name into it and pray verses 16-19 to be a reality in your day to day life. How about praying this each morning for the next 10 days – maybe it’s a prayer like this that the disciples prayed for the 10 days between Jesus’s ascension and Pentecost.