Harmony Hill Baptist Church

EPHESIANS 1:15–23 ESV
15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

As Paul wrote letters to the early church, he often included his prayers over them. In this series, we will examine a few of Paul’s prayers to help us know how to pray for others during this Thanksgiving season.

In today’s text, Paul gives a report about how he is praying for the Ephesian church.

Paul’s prayer report:
A. He regularly praises God for the testimony of the church (vv. 15–16).

B. He regularly prays for the church to have a more bountiful faith by having the eyes of their hearts illuminated by the Holy Spirit (vv.17–19).

Three areas of prayer for their deepening faith:
1) He prays for their expanded understanding of the hope found in Christ (v. 18).

2) He prays for their expanded understanding of how valuable they are to God (v. 18).

2) He prays for their expanded understanding of how valuable they are to God (v. 18).

Four examples of God’s power:
a) The Father raised Christ from the dead (v. 20).

b) The Father seated Christ in authority (vv. 20–21).

c) The Father subjected all things under Christ’s feet (v. 22).

d) The Father gave the victorious Christ to lead the church (vv. 22–23).

Prayer prompts for this week:
• Praise God for salvations here on the Hill.
• Praise God for the love shared between us on the Hill.
• Intercede for our church to have our hearts illuminated to the truth…
...of our hope in Christ.
...of our value to Christ.
...of the power displayed in Christ for us.
...that Christ’s leadership gives us victory over spiritual enemies.

Passage for next week: Colossians 1:9–14