What is your greatest need? For what do you pray the most earnestly for yourself and for others? I’m sure physical health would be at the top of most of our lists. And of course we tend to pray for help with addictions or temptations, and for God to strengthen our various relationships that have become strained. Our prayers thus tend to focus on the needs and desires we have in this world, in this life.

But at the end of chapter 3, Paul demonstrates a completely different set of priorities. Yes, in verse 16 he prays that his readers would be strengthened with power, but not so that we might have more ease or comfort. Instead, he wants the Spirit-to give us strength to have faith in Christ (v. 17), even when our lives aren’t going the way we think they should. He wants us to have the strength to understand the love of Christ in all its fulness, a love that is too wonderful for any mere human knowledge to comprehend (v. 19).

In short, Paul’s greatest desire for his readers is simply that we would be drawn closer to Christ – that Christ would live in us so that we might have our roots sunk down deeply into His love (v. 17). And when you get right down to it, this is actually the most practical prayer of all. For won’t we be better able to handle even the most desperate, impossible situations if we are firmly convinced of Jesus’ love for us? After all, Paul was put in prison precisely because of his faith in Christ (v. 1), and yet he continued to proclaim the grace of God to everyone (v. 2), making known the mysterious truth that God saves even the Gentiles, and even unworthy, self-centered sinners like us.

So, let us keep praying for all those difficult, even impossible situations that face us and our loved ones in this world. But let us pray with full confidence in our loving, gracious God, the God Who is able to do much more than we dare to ask, the God Who fills all who trust in Him with the power of the Holy Spirit (v. 20). May we live only for His glory today.

Ephesians 3:1-21 (ESV)

For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles–
2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you,
3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.
4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ,
5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.
8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things,
10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,
12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.
13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith– that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.