Coffee With The Lord

If imagining Apostle Paul in fervent prayer for the believers in Ephesus (Ephesians 3:14-19 – yesterday’s post) was not enough, in my Bible reading today during “Coffee with the Lord,” Apostle Paul went one step further and “upped the ante”…

He did something I believe we all need to learn to do… “HE TRANSITIONED FROM PASSIONATE PRAYER TO POWERFUL WORSHIP!” In fact, you might picture it this way… He moved from “!” to “!!!”

My advice, just as you imagined Apostle Paul praying Ephesians 3:14-19, now imagine his voice, his facial expressions, his expressive worship movements as he prayed these words of worship and thanksgiving…

“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, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen!!!” (Ephesians 3:20–21 ESV)

Com’on, let’s follow Paul’s example – Let’s be sure to always “TRANSITION FROM PASSIONATE PRAYER TO POWERFUL WORSHIP!”

I CAN ONLY IMAGINE!!! … Imagine Apostle Paul praying the great “Apostolic Prayer” for the Christians in ancient Ephesus from prison in Rome!

Can you imagine it? The tone of his voice (its urgency and inflections), his facial expressions, his pacing back and forth (if he was able to), his hand gestures… and his amanuensis (secretary) scrambling feverishly to keep up…

Now I’ve heard some godly people pour their hearts to God in prayer… I remember my godly father praying for “PJ,” my son, as he was preparing to enter the Marine Corp… In fact, “PJ” remarked on how you could sense God’s presence and his grandpa’s passion in that prayer!

But imagine hearing Apostle Paul praying Ephesians 3:14-19!

Wow!!! (I’d loved to have had a video recording of it!) It’s a prayer he prayed for the Christians in Ephesus… But it’s also an “apostolic prayer” for every Christian down through the ages! … For you and me!!! Here it is… (now imagine him praying it…)!

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named…

“That according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being

…So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith

…That you, being rooted and grounded in love,

…May have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

…And know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,

…That you may be filled with all the fullness of God!” (Ephesians 3:14-19 ESV)

I claim it! Oh, Lord fulfill every aspect of it in my life!!!

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING in the heavenly places! (Ephesians 1:3 … And what follows in Ephesians 1 is a wonderful listing of several of these blessings (vss. 4-14) – not an exhaustive list, but a representative list of all that God has provided for us “in Christ Jesus” – everything needed for victoriously living the Christian life here and now! Oh, praise the Lord!!!