Praying Paul's Prayer (Ephesians 3:14-21)

In his letter to the church of Ephesus, while imprisoned, Paul wrote a beautiful prayer. God's love and encouragement for the Ephesians just gushes from Paul's heart through his pen. May our prayer for each other and those on the outside that do not yet know Jesus as their Savior be with the same love and zeal as Paul's! May God hear our prayer and be with us as we seek to help people know, love, and follow Jesus!

By combining two modern versions of God's Word (NIV and Message paraphrase), we join to pray:

Lord God, because of Your unending love for us, evidenced by the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior, we kneel before You, Father. You are our magnificent Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name and who parcels out all heaven and earth. We pray that out of Your glorious riches You will strengthen us and those that do not yet know who You are, by Your Spirit - not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength with power through Your Spirit in our inner being, so that Christ may dwell in all of our hearts through faith as those that open the door and invite You in will experience.

We pray that, as Your followers, with both feet planted firmly on love, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, such extravagent dimensions that are incomprehendable, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that we may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of You, O God.

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

May we all Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

We Pray for Blessings, Lord God

Father God, thank you for the blessings of talents you have given singers and songwriters who use these gifts to glorify You. We come to You now, Lord, with these words for our families, our church, ourselves, as we lean not on our own understanding but seek Your face to guide us, protect us, keep us strong in our faith amidst pain, struggles, adversity. Lord Jesus,

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
But long that we'd have the faith to believe

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise

"Blessings" song lyrics by Laura Story

Anxious?

P E A C E F U L

Pray first! Cast all your cares upon Him for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Easy now ... rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Psalm 37:7

Act on it. Be a worry slapper; treat worries like mosquitoes!

Compile a worry list. Go back and look; how many actually became realities?

Evaluate your worry categories. Pray for them: Themes, Obsessions, etc.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

Focus on today! Do not be anxious about tomorrow!

Unleash a 'prayer warrior army'. Share your burdens and ask others to pray with and for you.

Let God be enough. Your heavenly Father knows. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be yours as well.

Lord God, thank you, once again, for Your faithfulness!
Thank you for Your Word proclaimed through Pastor Van Dellen!
May we all take to heart these teachings and seek to have a more peaceful life while here. We know this is what You want for us, Father, for You love us so and want the very best for us. Please convict our hearts to seek Your face and Your heart and Your will for our lives ... as Your church.

Thank you, also, for these words from Isaiah 48
...another reminder where True Peace comes from:

17 This is what the LORD says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the LORD your God,
who teaches you what is best for you,
who directs you in the way you should go.
18 If only you had paid attention to my commands,
your peace would have been like a river,
your well-being like the waves of the sea."

Keep us in Your loving care, Father God. In the precious name of Your Son, Jesus, we pray. Amen