Astounding Prayer

By Martin O. Opany

Prayer is a fascinating subject; I assume that you have heard it taught in the church or somewhere else. More so, I assume that at one point in your life, you had a chance whereby you prayed, read or recited a prayer. Undeniably, prayer is a norm in the lives of most Christian believers and a common practice among other faiths in the world. People, who engage in prayers, pray for different reasons and in most cases, for divine intervention.

As a matter of fact, when we read through the pages of the Bible from the book of Genesis to Revelation; there are records of many prayers prayed by different people for different reasons. Captivatingly, reading through these
prayers, one cannot fail to ascertain that they were more than recitation of some well-known, ear catching phrases.

In reality, most of these prayers came from the outpouring of the hearts of men and women who sought divine intervention. Consequently, some of these prayers carry with them a whole load of meaning which sometimes we do not perceive. Presumably so, because when we read through, we do not take any solemn interest in them; after all, they are just prayers. This book looks at Paul who is one among many, who prayed some astounding prayers which are recorded in the Holy Scriptures. Even so, it focuses on the prayer he prayed to God for the church in Ephesus. Accordingly, it deals with his prayer as recorded in Ephesians 3:14-21.

Certainly, when you conduct a keen read through this prayer, you cannot fail to marvel at some of Pauls stunning statements. Consequently, this book dwells on and analyzes some of the statements in this prayer, bringing to our understanding the most startling truth of the union Christians have with the triune God and what that entails. More so, it brings to our thoughts the importance of praying in accordance to the written word of God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Feb 15, 2012
• ISBN: 9781467888974

Book preview

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Introduction

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version and New Living Translation: The Holy Bible; People’s Parallel Edition, copyright ©1997 by the Tyndale House Publication.

Scriptures marked ISV are taken from the International Standard Version: New Testament, copyright ©1999 by the Davidson Press.

Acknowledgements

My many thanks to Pastor Robert Clifford, Pastor Boaz Manoa, Pastor Peter and Dorothy Sila, Barbara Sambrooks, Johnstone Ndunde, and Michael Omondi for their love, encouragement, and contribution in my life. My late dad and mom for all their sustained support during their living days; they contributed immensely to my life.

I honor God for my wife and daughters, who have endured a number of years without my presence during my studies abroad and for their support. This book would not have been a reality without their positive contributions and inexorable prayers.

To God be all the glory; the One and only faithful God, in whom we put our trust!

I pray that God

May grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in your inner being

I pray that Christ may dwell in your heart by faith

I pray that you may know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge

And

That you might be filled with all the fullness of God.

Introduction

Prayer is a fascinating subject; I assume that you have heard it taught in the church or somewhere else. More so, I assume that at one point in your life, you had a chance whereby you prayed, read, or recited a prayer. Undeniably, prayer is a norm in the lives of most Christian believers and a common practice among other faiths in the world. People who engage in prayers pray for different reasons and, in most cases, for divine intervention.

As a matter of fact, when we read through the pages of the Bible, from the book of Genesis to Revelation, there are records of many prayers prayed by different people for different reasons. Captivatingly, reading through these prayers, one cannot fail to ascertain that they were more than recitation of some well-known, ear-catching phrases.

In reality, most of these prayers came from the outpouring of the hearts of men and women who sought divine intervention. Consequently, some of these prayers carry with them a whole load of meaning, which sometimes we do not perceive. Presumably so, because when we read through, we do not take any solemn interest in them; after all, they are just prayers.

This book looks at Paul, who is one among many who prayed some astounding prayers which are recorded in the Holy Scriptures. Even so, it focuses on the prayer he prayed to God for the church in Ephesus.¹ Accordingly, it deals with his prayer as recorded in Ephesians 3:14–21.

Certainly, when you conduct a keen read through this prayer, you cannot fail to marvel at some of Paul’s stunning statements.

Consequently, this book dwells on and analyzes some of the statements in this prayer, bringing to our understanding the most startling truth of the union Christians have with the triune God and what that entails. More so, it brings to our thoughts the importance of praying in accordance to the written word of God.

CHAPTER ONE

PRAYER FOR THE EPHESIANS

Authorship of Ephesians

Without question, a majority of Christians know the importance of prayer; nonetheless, their attitude and how they pray—the words, phrases, or sentences they use—are absolutely significant.

The prayer in consideration captures this art quite vividly; Paul uses rich statements right through his prayer, as will be evidenced throughout this book.

However, it is important that before we attempt to unravel Paul’s prayer, especially some of the statements and phrases he used as he prayed for the believers in Ephesus, we take into account that there exist some controversies that relate to the authorship of this epistle (Ephesians).

Most scholars and commentators hold some reservations as to whether the letter is authentically Pauline. On the other hand, there are many who think and even endorse the epistle to Paul’s authorship; for that reason, the epistle is classified among the disputed Pauline corpus.

Donald Guthrie states, For a century and a half, New Testament criticism has subjected the Pauline writings to the closest scrutiny, and at times nearly submerged them in a maze of speculative hypotheses. Even so, we must state that some of Paul’s writings have been readily embraced; nonetheless, there are some that are still disputed to date. As such, Guthrie says that only Ephesians and the Pastoral Epistles are still disputed by many scholars.²

It is therefore important that we bear that in mind and not be ignorant of the existing dispute which revolves around the authorship of this epistle; however, we will not go into more details in relation to Ephesians’ authorship as that is not our main focus in this book. Should you be interested in pursuing the subject further, there are different sources of information available that tackle the subject thoroughly.

Notwithstanding, we will stick to Paul’s authorship for reasons that will be evidenced through the successive pages. Nevertheless, of considerable import is not whether it is Pauline but the heart of the prayer in consideration, which is our main focus. Indeed, reading attentively through Paul’s prayer, one cannot fail to marvel at some really startling phrases contained therein.

Just to quote but one example from Ephesians 3:19, he prayed, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Indisputably, by analysing the statements and phrases of Paul’s prayer, one cannot fail to ascertain the astounding magnitude of what he supposed. Take for example the statement quoted above; we must be agreed that it is an amazing one: why should he pray in that manner, how can people be filled with all the fulness of God, and what does that make them? These are just some questions that one may ask, even though the prayer does not begin with the above statement, nor does it conclude with it. Even so, the sumptuousness or the richness of the statement cannot be ignored.

It is astonishing, even incomprehensible, to see in our mind’s eye an individual or congregation of believers being filled with all the fulness of God. That notwithstanding, it is exactly what Paul prayed for, for the church in Ephesus.

The Prayer

Below is the actual prayer he prayed as recorded in his epistle:

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 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, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen (Ephesians 3:14–21).

Paul on his Tribulations

It is worth noting that prior to praying