Getting there by prayer

Josh Hughes

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.

– Ephesians 3:14-21.

"Your Heavenly Father is going to get you from here to there, and he’s going to get you there through prayer. "

1. In prayer, we access the cache of the Father’s riches
   • “The notion that we are children of God, his own sons and daughters is the mainspring of Christian living… our sonship to God is the apex of creation and the goal of redemption.” - Sinclair Ferguson
   • “The tree of (God’s) promise will not drop its fruit unless shaken by the hand of prayer." - Thomas Watson
   • “Thou art coming to a King, large petitions with thee bring, for His grace and power are such none can ever ask too much.” - John Newton
2.  In prayer, we acquire the capacity of the Spirit’s power
   • The kind of power through Hannah's prayer
   • The kind of power Puah experienced
3.  In prayer, we acquire comprehension of the love of Christ
   • A person who is rooted and grounded in love can be a non-anxious presence. A loving presence. A joyful presence. A resilient apprentice, a sacrificial friend, and an adventurous guide.
   • BLHD: The love of Christ is Broad, Long, High, and Deep.
4. Applications
   • Pray - daily, in silence, and in solitude
     • Pray for inward strength from the Spirit for yourself and others.
     • Pray for a fuller experience of the Father’s love and for a more audacious willingness to believe it’s for you.
     • Pray for greater indwelling of Christ in you, a rooting and grounding in his love.
     • Pray for God to be glorified, that his worthiness would shine out of your life, your household, and your church, in your workplace, in your city, and in all the nations in all generations.
   • "My whole life, in one sense, he has been an experiment in how to be a portable sanctuary… learning to practice the presence of God in the midst of the stresses and strains of contemporary life.” - Richard Foster