Climbing the Staircase of Prayer

Yesterday we started looking at Eph 3:14-21. Now, let’s get down to the subject of his prayer…Stott compared Paul’s prayer to climbing a staircase with each step taking us higher and closer to God. I like that idea, but let’s look at it in terms of climbing a ladder in the school of prayer. You can take these subjects and pray for yourself or for anyone—those who are lost, those who are prodigals, and those who are walking in the Spirit. Notice the word, “that,” and you’ll find the topics of prayer.

On the first rung we find power.

“That according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being.”

Power is a common theme in Ephesians—we find the Greek words for power, strength, and ability in this letter and in these verses, we find all three. Paul is praying that God, through His Spirit, will strengthen you mightily with His power.

Notice two things about this power—first the measure of it—“according to the riches of His glory.” It isn’t that Paul is asking God to strengthen them out of God’s riches of glory—it is that he is asking Him to do it according to the riches of His glory. That’s two totally different things—in the past I’ve used the analogy of Elon Musk giving according to his riches or out of his riches. Would you want a gift out of the riches of a trillionaire or according to his riches? God gives according to the riches of His grace.

But notice not only the measure of it, but the location of the strengthening—“in your inner being.” We spend so much time on the outer being which passes away, but the inner being is who we are in Christ, and we strengthen that as we feed it. We find the inner man mentioned again in verse 17 when Paul says, “in your hearts.” How much time do you spend feeding your inner being? At the end of 2 Corinthians 4 Paul says, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

Feed your inner man—the soul—with time in the Word, time in prayer, time in worship, and through obedience. The divine nature is imparted to us when we are saved—we are brought to life from the death of sin and we must now realize the need to be strengthen with God’s power in the inner man. That’s the secret to our growth as children of God. Feed it and you’ll find yourself seeking God’s will and God will in turn give you the strength to follow Him. Pray that God will give you the power to do it and pray that He will give the power to others.