A Prayer for the Ephesians, and for Northside
“… I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, 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, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of 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.” (Ephesians 3.14-21)
Every few weeks, I’m blessed with the opportunity to write an article for our bulletin, and sometimes it’s a struggle. What to say to such a wide-ranging audience? What part of God’s Word? What might be an encouragement? What might be an exhortation? This week, the phrase “immeasurably more” came to mind.
In our church family, we share so many life stages and so many life stories. On any given day, for every instance of blessing or challenge, someone else at Northside has almost exactly the opposite blessing or challenge! For everyone blessed with a new baby, another Northsider has suffered the loss of someone they love. For everyone celebrating a different life blessing, another Northsider is struggling with a different life problem. For everyone on a good, steady roll of good fortune, another Northsider is facing a lengthy life storm. How can a church family with so many different situations build and maintain a united fellowship?
We must pray early and often to our God and Father in Heaven. We are strengthened in His power. We try our best to understand the “wide and long and high and deep” love of Jesus Christ. And finally, we trust in “Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.”