A Prayer of Paul’s – A Meditation on Ephesians 1:15-23 (Pt 2)

“I…do not cease giving thanks for you while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.”

Paul’s prayers are always oriented towards the God of our Lord Jesus.  This may go without saying but Paul was completely unapologetic as to whom he addressed his prayers.  His prayers were clearly directed to one God and no one else.  There was no mistaking who Paul called upon in prayer.  He says it in slightly different ways at times, but his focus was undeterred.  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort” (2 Cor 1:3), “blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph 1:3) and “we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you” (Col 1:3).  And there are many other times when Paul simply refers to Him as “the Father” (I Cor 8:6; Gal 1:1; Eph 2:18; 3:14; 5:20; 6:23; Phil 2:11; Col 1:12 to name a few).

Paul’s prayers were always directed towards Him, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Paul did not direct His prayers to “God” in general terms, nor to a “higher power”, nor to the “man upstairs”.  Paul was clear that the One to whom he made his petitions was the God of Jesus Christ.  He prayed to Him alone.

In a day when it is politically incorrect to mention the name Jesus, to claim allegiance to Him, the name God has actually flourished.  It is still acceptable to call upon God. It is still acceptable to pray to God in a public setting.  Many in our society call upon some god in the course of their life and worship, thus they have not yet completely abolished Him from the public arena.  However to call upon God in general is a very different thing than to call upon the God and Father of the Lord Jesus.  Jesus Himself divides, thus anyone associated with Him also brings division.  Biblically, Jesus came to glorify (to honor and exalt) His God and Father.  And His God and Father is the same God to whom all of the prophets from the Old and New Testaments refer.

He is the Alpha, the Creator God of Genesis 1:1 “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  And He is the Omega, the final Judge and King over the new heavens and earth which He will create in Revelation 22.  He is the self existent One, the “I am” of Exodus 3:14.  He is the God who sees and provides of Genesis 22:14.  He is the Savior of Isaiah 43:11.  He is the One from whom no one can deliver in Isaiah 43:13).  And He alone is the one true God of Deuteronomy 4:39; Isaiah 45:6-7.

All that Paul prays in this section is directed to this One.  Praying to or in the name of any god save the God and Father of the Lord Jesus will fall upon deaf ears.  Praying to the True and Living God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus will always yield great reward.  Later in the book of Ephesians 3:20-21, Paul will end his second prayer with this brief doxology “now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”  These verses mark the central theme of the book which is the glory of God in the church.  But they also highlight the believers confidence in prayer to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, namely God’s passion for His glory.

Without rehashing what so many other more learned men have already declared concerning the glory of God, it is clear from the very first chapter of Ephesians that the work of God in the church is a work that He does “for the praise of the glory of His grace.”  The chief end of God is to bring glory to Himself and He must do so (it is not arrogant for Him to do so) because He is in fact the most perfect in every way, the most glorious, the most high.  And by virtue of His perfections, He must perfectly value all things.  Thus He must perfectly value His perfection above all other things and must see to it that His perfections are exalted above all.  Thus again, in all of His doings, even in His work in the church – which is for our good – He aims to bring about His glory knowing that our good glorifies Him.  And if we pray to Him, that we grow in Him, to be like Him and love Him (which in essence is what Paul prays here in chapter 1) then we know that He will indeed answer for the end of those things are hearts and mouths more adequately equipped to proclaim His excellencies!

May the LORD, the One True and Living God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, grant you joy and confidence as you pray without ceasing to Him alone, trusting Him to answer for our good and His glory.  May He grant you boldness to proclaim His excellencies without apology, to call upon the name of the LORD, the God and Father of the Lord Jesus for all to know to whom you pray.

¹⁰ But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, And the nations cannot endure His indignation.¹¹ Thus you shall say to them, “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”¹² It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens.  (Jer. 10:10-12)

⁶ Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand.⁷ Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.  (Ps. 20:6-7)

² “Thus says the LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it to establish it, the LORD is His name, ³ ‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ (Jer. 33:2-3)

“And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD Will be delivered…” (Joel 2:32)

Psalm 13 – 150 Days of Purposeful Meditation (Day 13)

God is a Merciful Savior. How can a man endure strife and difficulty from among his peers/enemies?  How can a man endure heartache and sorrow to such a degree that sinks him into great despair and depression?  By remembering that God is a merciful Savior.

Hear the cry of the Psalmist “how long O Lord, will you forget me forever…how long will you hide your face from me?” How long will God be far from me?  Hear the despair in his heart.  Hear the rejection.  He has been wronged by his enemies.  They have fought against him and seem to be prevailing.  God is his hope and this he knows for certain.  But it seems that his God has turned his eye from the situation temporarily.  In moments of despair, we can certainly feel that way.  Particularly those of us who know God and who maintain our integrity before Him knowing that He is the “rewarder of those who seek Him.” We are those who seek His righteous face in righteousness and so to experience such heartache and despair, such torment from one’s enemies can be utterly confusing to us.  We ask, why?   Why now, why us? If God is for us, then how can this be against us?  And how long will He cause me to remain in this distress?

Furthermore, he says “how long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily.” From this we notice two things.  First is that despair can cause one to feel alone.  And second is that this despair often lasts for days on end.  That it makes him feel utterly alone daily, we notice that he says “how long shall I take counsel in my soul…”  He takes counsel in his own soul, perhaps to just cheer himself; but most likely because there are no others for him to turn to.  Perhaps he feels that no one else can fully understand his struggle. He is alone in his distress with no one to call upon.  And so within his own heart, he sinks and sulks.   That the despair seems to last for days on end, he says “how long shall I…have sorrow in my heart daily?” This despair is constant and pressing.  Day after day he awakes to it.  It walks with him through the day.  It beckons him moment by moment.  It causes him to recall his every action, every thought, every deed to know whether or not he has mistakenly wronged another; that perhaps the attack is justified.  Sometimes perhaps it causes him to wonder why he should care to uphold his integrity at all.  And why should he be so concerned with striving for righteousness if this is his lot.  Or perhaps it causes him to justify himself within his own heart like Job, as if he does not deserve such an attack and as if God doesn’t have any right reason for it.  Of course God doesn’t need to justify Himself any more to us than He did to Job.

He pleads with God for relief as he says “consider and hear me, O Lord my God, enlighten my eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say ‘I have prevailed against him;’ lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.” At times this distress causes us to plead with God to hear our cry.  And yet it seems that he doesn’t.  We ask for him to vindicate us lest those who “trouble” us rejoice at our fall.  We ask for God to “enlighten” us so that we may know the reason for such distress; but it never seems to come.   (Though we know that knowing the reason for the trial will probably not bring us comfort.)

So how does this man overcome despair?  He says “But I have trusted in your mercy, my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.  I will sing to the Lord because He has dealt bountifully with me!” First, we notice that he overcomes because he is one who trusts in the mercy of God.  In his heart, he knows that God is a God of salvation.  It is only those who are truly the Lord’s possession who can say this.  It is only those who have this type of faith who speak of the Lord as One who is a merciful Savior.  Furthermore, in his heart, he knows that because God is a merciful Savior and because God desires praise from His people, that God will bring salvation to him.  We see this from his choice of words I “have trusted…my heart shall rejoice…I will sing…”  These are words of one who is assured that the God whom he serves is a Savior who is able to bring salvation according to His mercy to those who are His.

Evil does abound.  Attacks come from all sides.  We may be tempted to think that when we are attacked, that it is personal.  Particularly if the attack is personal.  That is, if it is done through a trusted and close relationship.  However, we must remember that God is sovereign, even in our suffering.  And that even in those personal attacks, He has purpose.  I know a brother who is under such an attack.  And it is in the context of relationships that were trusted to him.  At least some of those relationships were very dear to him.  And for that reason, these attacks have caused him great distress.  But to him, I would say that difficulty of this sort is never merely about him.  And though it be personal, and though it be difficult (I speak this as one who has never experienced what he has); this particular difficulty has a greater scope.  For it involves the body of Christ and the body of Christ is always under attack by the evil one.  And though we don’t like to think that our brothers and sisters can be used by the evil one for his purposes; we must recognize that he will use any and every opportunity to attack the people of God and men of God who stand before the people as an example daily.  With that said, as difficult as these trials are he/we can persevere and we shall persevere because God is a merciful Savior.  And He is One who is able to accomplish His salvation plan for His people regardless of what may occur in the process.  Furthermore, that He may and does use these difficulties in our lives to continue to shape and mold our hearts to trust Him as the merciful Savior that He is.  And not only to trust Him; which would be enough, but to long for His eternal rest, which He has promised to those who trust Him and who also endure.  That our hearts would continue to be prepared, not for the temporary rest that we may enjoy here, but for His eternal rest.

If you are His and you are enduring such an extraordinarily difficult trial in which you may feel that God has temporarily turned His back on you, that this trial is unwarranted, that your attackers do so without cause,  and perhaps that there is no one who can truly relate to what you are experiencing; then I exhort you to remember in whom you have trusted.  He is a “Wonderful, Merciful Savior”…a “precious Redeemer and Friend” as the song says.  He is the Creator of the World, and yet is One who has chosen to forgive our transgressions against Him and to live in our hearts.  If He has done this; what ultimate good would He withhold from you?  And if this has befallen you; then you must trust that this is a part of His plan to bring about your ultimate good.

Perhaps you who endure such a trial are not ones who must be reminded to forgive.  Perhaps you are not ones who must be reminded to forget…or even that you are ones who need to be reminded to endure.  You’ve learned a great many lessons.  You have maintained your integrity before the Lord in this situation and even in handling the trial which has resulted.  But perhaps you could use the reminder that the God whom we serve is a Wonderful, Merciful Savior. And that this is His plan for you, and anyone else involved.  And therefore, perhaps what you have done is not the problem.  Perhaps who they are and who you are is not the problem.   But rather, this is about who He is and what He is doing in this situation for all who behold it.

Will you praise Him for it?  Do you believe that He is a Wonderful, Merciful Savior?  In this situation, which you know is His doing, is He still wonderful?  And do you believe that He is a Merciful Savior to you?  If you do; then you must rejoice!  You must sing!  Because He will deal bountifully with you.