Nathaniel R. Martin

Prayer as an Ordinary Means of Grace: Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon Idea: Prayer is a means of grace through which God builds up the church as we commune with Him in the name of Christ and the power of the Spirit. 

Introduction: Just a few weeks ago, we reflected on the early church’s priorities in corporate worship from Acts 2:42. Among the ordinary acts they devoted themselves to was prayer. 

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Ac 2:42.)

The picture we are given is much more than prayer being relegated to a mere transition between more meaningful moments in the worship service. Prayer was and should be a central part of every corporate worship service. 

As Acts continues, prayer plays a primary role in all the church does. The church’s dependence upon God and seeking of God are always expressed through prayer. The church’s boldness, power, and effectiveness are always the result of prayer.

Prayer is primary because it is an ordinary means of grace through which God builds up the church as she communes with Him in the name of Christ and the power of the Spirit. That will be my main point this morning. 

I want to show this in two ways. First, I want to speak generally about prayer as a means of grace. I want to remind you that the Lord Jesus commands prayer and so expects of us. I also want us to survey several texts that remind us that the promises of God accompany prayer. 

After that, I want to consider how prayer is a means of grace for us with a particular example. I want us to think about how God builds the church up as we commune with Him in the name of Christ and in the power of the Spirit, from Ephesians 3:14-20, one of the richest prayers in the New Testament. 

Before we dive in, it is worth asking a more basic question: What is prayer? I want to share a robust definition of prayer that I came across this week in my reading, and a straightforward definition. 

The robust definition comes from Charles Hodge, a theologian who was the principal of Princeton Theological Seminary in the 19th century. It is beautiful, so now you have to hear about it. 

“Prayer is the converse of the soul with God. Therein we manifest or express to Him our reverence, and love for his divine perfection, our gratitude for all his mercies, our penitence for our sins, our hope for his forgiving love, our desires for his favor, and for the providential and spiritual blessings needed for ourselves and others.”

That is a rich definition of prayer, and if you listened carefully, it taught you all the essential components of good prayer. When we pray, we are to adore God for who He is, confess our sin in light of God’s goodness and holiness, be thankful for all God’s grace and goodness to us, and seek the Lord for all the blessings needed for ourselves and others. 

A few months ago, one of our dear brothers approached me after one of our services and told me he was having difficulty in his prayer life. He didn’t know where to start or what to pray for. I encouraged him to remember the acronym A.C.T.S. 

A stands for adoration. Start your prayers by adoring God’s beauty, glory, and majesty. 

C stands for confession. In light of God’s glory and holiness, we acknowledge our sins, confess them, and rest in the finished work of Christ. 

T stands for thanksgiving. We follow confession by giving thanks to God for his grace, salvation, spiritual blessings, etc. 

S stands for supplication. We ask God for all we need, and we intercede for others. We make requests for ourselves and others. 

The simple definition is this: prayer is talking to God. It is simple, but think about all that this simple definition takes for granted. If prayer is talking to God, God must be personal and welcoming of communion with us. This is amazing. In prayer, the one, true God: Father, Son, Holy Spirit, who created all things from nothing by His Word, gives us his attention. And he does so, not as a king hearing the desperate pleas of a peasant but as a Father who delights in his children seeking his presence and provision. 

Prayer is commanded by the Lord Jesus 

The church was so devoted to prayer because prayer was commanded by Jesus and expected of followers of Jesus. 

We read the Lord’s Prayer earlier in the service, and in Matthew 6, Jesus expects that his disciples will pray. 

“And when you pray…” (Matt. 6:5) 

“But when you pray…” (Matt. 6:6)

“And when you pray…” (Matt. 6:7) 

“And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart .” (Lk 18:1)

This command to pray is reinforced in Paul’s letters. 

“Devote yourselves to prayer.” (Colossians 4:2) 

“Pray continually.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) 

We could also survey the numerous examples of Jesus praying privately, with his disciples, and for his disciples. If we want to be like Jesus, we must be people of prayer. Prayer is commanded for the good of God’s people, and so we should devote ourselves to it. It is a means of grace, and although it is a command, it is also an invitation to receive blessings from God as we commune with him. 

Prayer is accompanied by the promises of God 

1. God promises to hear us 

14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. (1 Jn 5:14–15)

2. God promises peace 

in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Php 4:6–7)

3. God promises mercy and grace 

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb 4:14–16)

If this is all we said, it would be enough to establish prayer as a means of grace. God, by the Holy Spirit, bestows the blessings secured by Christ to his people through prayer. God hears us, offering peace, mercy, and grace. 

I want to spend the rest of our time basking in the truths of Ephesians 3:14-20, which I think is the richest prayer in the New Testament and the prayer that teaches us very specifically how God builds us up through prayer. 

Paul makes three main requests as he intercedes for the Ephesians, and they are identified by the word “that.” 

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father… (v. 14) 

  1. that…he may grant you to be strengthened … and so Christ may dwell in your hearts (vv. 16-17a) 
  2. that  you…may have strength to comprehend…and to know the love of Christ (vv. 17b-19a) 
  3. that you may be filled with the fullness of God (v. 19b)
     

To make it applicable to us, we can say it this way. Prayer is a means of spiritual strength, a means of knowing the love of Christ, and a means to grow in the fullness of God. 

I.) Prayer is a means of spiritual strength (Eph. 3:14-17a) 

Prayer is the means through which God bestows the gracious blessing his people in Christ through the Spirit. In verses 16-17, Paul speaks of God’s glory as a depth of riches. In other words, there is an exhaustive source of strength for the people of God. That source is the riches of God’s glory, and we can further share in these riches through prayer. 

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 (Eph 3:14–17)

In prayer, the Spirit of God strengthens believers in their inner being. This means that no matter how weak or fragile the physical body becomes, in Christ, believers can continue to be strengthened, renewed, and refreshed by the Spirit. This is a very similar idea to 2 Corinthians 4:16. 

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. (2 Co 4:16)

The result of this strengthening, according to verse 17, is “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” 

Of course, this does not mean believers don’t have Christ dwelling in their hearts before praying this way. What Paul says about the Ephesians is true for every believer in Christ. 

13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Eph 1:13–14)

Although this is true of every Christian, we don’t always fully realize it and live in light of it. Prayer, then, is a means that God uses to strengthen us by his Spirit so that our lives may increasingly experience the benefits of having Christ dwelling in our hearts. 

We can think of it as a deeper awareness of and thankfulness for the gracious reality that Christ indwells us. That deeper awareness and thankfulness come by the strengthening work of the Spirit in prayer.

Illustration: Dad’s house growing up vs. Dad’s house after marrying Candice. 

When this happens, we can think of our life as Paul thinks of his life in Galatians 2:20. 

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Ga 2:20)

II.) Prayer is a means of knowing the love of Christ (Eph. 3:17b-19a) 

This next point has frequently been a topic of reflection, meditation, and sheer astonishment in my own life. The reason for that is that Paul speaks of the love of Christ in such a way that it is beyond our comprehension. The love of Christ for the church and for every believer is so immeasurably great that we have to actually seek the Spirit’s help through prayer just to understand it. 

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 (Eph 3:17–19)

Prayer is a means by which God roots and grounds our life to be nourished by the love of Christ. You can think of a tree with deep roots by a flowing stream of water. The deeper the roots, the stronger the tree. The more nourished the tree, the healthier it is.

Through prayer, we come to comprehend the immeasurable greatness of Christ’s love for us. The love of Christ has breadth, length, height, and depth. There is nowhere to ascend to find the end of Christ’s love for the church. There is nowhere to descend to find the end of Christ’s love for the church. You can go as far as the East is from the West, but you’ll not see the limit of Christ’s love for the church. 

When you think about Christ’s purity, holiness, and greatness, and then your impurity and sin, there is a temptation even in the Christian life to wonder how Christ could love us. But he does and does so immeasurably. 

This passage reminds me of one of my favorite confessional articles. In Article 26 of the Belgic Confession of Faith on the intercession of Christ, the confession offers encouragement to any who would have any fear because of Christ’s greatness. 

“But this mediator, whom the Father has appointed between himself and us, ought not terrify us by his greatness, so that we have to look for another one, according to our fancy. For neither in heaven nor among the creatures on earth is there anyone who loves us more than Jesus Christ does.”- Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 26

The more Christians comprehend the immeasurable greatness of Christ’s love for them, the more they have real knowledge of it, and they’ll experience more joy and thankfulness, be less inclined to sin, and be strengthened against temptation. 

There is not a single person in this room who doesn’t need to have a deeper knowledge of Christ’s love. There is not a single person who doesn’t need more joy, gratitude, and strength against temptation and sin. 

“The love of Christ is held out to us as the subject which ought to occupy our daily and nightly meditations and in which we ought to be wholly plunged. He who is in possession of this alone has enough.“- John Calvin

Prayer is the means through which God, by his spirit, strengthens us to comprehend the love of Christ.  

III.) Prayer is a means of growing in the fullness of God (Eph. 3:19b)

The third and final request is that the the Ephesians would be filled with the fullness of God, “that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”(Eph 3:19)

Prayer is the means that God uses to mature us into the fullness of who he created us to be and who he has redeemed us to be in Christ. Two verses in Ephesians shed light on what Paul means. 

12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, (Eph 4:12–13)

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Eph 5:1–2)

Allow me to make this applicable. God, who can do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, could mature us without prayer, but he won’t. It is his will that the children of God grow into the fullness of God as they sit in his presence. That is how we grow into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, and it is how we learn to be imitators of God as beloved children. We seek the presence and provision of our Father in prayer. 

Prayer is a means of grace through which God builds up the church as we commune with Him in the name of Christ and the power of the Spirit. 

The Lord Jesus commanded it, so the Lord expects us to pray. God’s promises accompany prayer. It is the means to spiritual strength, knowing the love of Christ, and growing into the fullness of God. 

So let us respond to the Word of our Lord the best we can. Let us pray.

Nathaniel R. Martin

Peace in the Christian Life: Philippians 4:4-9

Sermon Idea: Peace in the Christian life is offered by trusting God’s promises and living in light of them. 

Introduction: Before we dive into Philippians 4, I want you to hear these words from our Lord Jesus in John 16, which describe how he prepared the disciples for the difficulty they experienced upon his death. 

32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16:32–33)

What strikes me most about Jesus’ words is that he does not comfort them with deliverance from trouble but promises peace in the midst of it. This peace will be found not in themselves but in Christ, who overcomes the world. They were to believe in Christ’s promise that he has overcome the world and live in light of it by taking heart, resulting in peace no matter the circumstance. 

As Paul concludes his letter to the Philippians, he encourages them to trust God’s promises and live in light of them. The essence of these promises is peace from God regardless of the conflict, circumstance, or challenge. As you can see in the handout in your bulletin, Paul gives six commands that are rooted in three promises. 

Doing so is part of responding to the many calls Paul has given us throughout this letter. 

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ… (Php 1:27)

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Php 2:12–13)

Everything we discussed this morning is only possible because of what God has done in Jesus Christ and is doing in us by his grace in the power of the Spirit. 

However, what is heavy on my heart this morning is not a mere understanding of the structure and content. As someone who cares about preaching the text and not merely using it as a springboard to say whatever I feel, I spend a lot of time trying to communicate its meaning understandably and helpfully. I try to understand words and phrases and how they fit together. I want to get the meaning right and let the meaning of the text become the sermon’s meaning. 

I don’t want you to know just what the text says—I want you to trust what it says! I want you to experience the promise of peace in your own Christian life, no matter the circumstance or challenge. I want you to know the God of peace speaking to you in this passage, believe in the goodness of his promises, and live by faith in pursuit of the peace offered to you. 

This may mean we have to ask some painful questions at the start. 

We should question what our absence of rejoicing reveals about the condition of our hearts and whether we genuinely trust that God will be faithful to all His promises.

We should consider what our lack of reasonableness and gentleness toward others reveals about where we have placed our hope.

We should examine what our anxiety reveals about whom and what we truly fear. 

We should consider what our lack of prayer reveals about our true beliefs regarding God and His Word

We should reflect on what we think about the most and whether that reveals a desire for what is good, beautiful, and true—namely, God himself. 

We should examine our practices and ask whether they resemble a life of godliness and peace in God’s presence. 

I ask these questions with you, friends because I don’t want to settle for a mere understanding of the content and structure of these verses. I want to know and trust the God that promises peace as I live in light of that promise. 

Peace in the Christian life is offered by trusting God’s promises and living in light of them.

I.) Trust God’s Promises (Philippians 4:4-9) 

If we are to experience peace in our Christian lives, we must know God’s promises, trust them, and live in light of them. In these verses, Paul bases his six commands on three promises: the promise of the Lord’s return, God’s peace, and God’s presence.s

  1. God has promised the Lord’s return. 

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; (Php 4:4–5)

The phrase “The Lord is at hand” refers to the promised second coming of Jesus Christ. We live between the first coming, in which Christ came to give his life on the cross, died, and rose again, and the second coming, where the full victory of Christ accomplished on the cross will be realized. We see the same thing in James. 

8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. (Jas 5:8)

This promise of Christ’s future coming is of such consequence that it informs how we think, speak, and live in the present. 

to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Tt 2:12–13)

How does this inform our present lives? Christians can rejoice and live reasonably among all people because the world’s weight is not on our shoulders. We are not the ones who must correct every wrong, bring justice to every offender, or defeat every enemy that stands against Christ and the gospel.

We can trust that Christ will really right every wrong, execute justice perfectly, and eliminate every evil person and practice. 

To state the obvious, we should not live or think about any circumstance of life as if Christ has not come, died, risen, and will not come again. 

With Christians throughout the centuries, we cry out, Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus! 

2. God has promised his peace. 

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Php 4:6–7)

God’s promise of peace results from bringing your anxieties before God. It is a peace that guards our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. This peace transcends our human capacities and intellect. 

When we pray, casting our anxieties and worries before the Lord, we submit ourselves and our concerns to Him. Prayer acknowledges our weakness and powerlessness, demonstrating our dependence on God’s sovereign power for everything. Through this act, the peace of God guards our minds and hearts as we no longer carry the burdens meant for Him alone. Prayer allows us to receive the peace and rest that come from God shouldering our burdens. It shifts our focus from all we need to do to all God can and will do.

3  You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, 

because he trusts in you. (Is 26:3)

3. God has promised his presence. 

9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Php 4:9)

God promises to be with his people, and he promises to be with us as the God of peace. Throughout the New Testament, the name “God of peace” refers to all that God is doing through Jesus Christ to make peace. First, in Jesus Christ, God makes peace between God and sinners. Second, God makes peace between humanity. 

23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. (1 Th 5:23–24)

20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you (Ro 16:20)

God promises the Lord’s coming, his peace, and his presnce. 

Why is it crucial to believe and trust in these promises as we seek peace in the Christian life? If we do not believe God’s Word or trust his promises, we will place our trust in ourselves, other people, or the things that bring us peace. We will live for ourselves, other people, or other things. The result of that disordered living brings not peace but chaos. 

How are we supposed to live in light of God’s promises? Paul gives six commands. Let’s take them one at a time. 

II.) Live in light of God’s promises (Philippians 4:4-9) 

  1. Rejoice in the lord. 

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. (Php 4:4)

Joy has been a prominent theme in Philippians, which is remarkable considering Paul wrote this letter from prison. True joy in the Christian life is found “in the Lord.” Those three words specify the source and reason for the Christian’s joy. Joy in the Christian is not based on circumstances. It is not based on money, possessions, or even health. It is in Christ so that no matter the circumstance, in riches or poverty, in little or a lot, we can rejoice because we are rejoicing in the Lord. 

While serving in North Carolina, a homebound member named Carmosina Carlson was very dear to me. She was originally from Brazil and had served as a missionary with Wycliffe Bible Translators. 

By the time I met her, she was no longer attending church, suffering from a debilitating auto-immune disorder. I would visit her monthly to talk, pray, sing, and share communion with one another. All the time I knew her, I never saw her leave a wheelchair except to lay in bed. She was thin and frail, almost nothing to her.  There were many nights filled with great physical pain, little sleep, and even difficulty breathing. 

She was honest about these things, but even when describing her pain, she would turn quickly to praise. Her communion with God, especially through suffering, shaped her so much that reports of pain led her to praise the Lord for his faithfulness, goodness, and care for her. She would raise her hands, tears falling down her face, and say, “The Lord is so good. Praise the Lord.”

Now, this sister is special. I have not met many like her, but that’s what we want to be more like, right? I hope to grow in my joy in the Lord so that I am not affected by my changing circumstances. Every time I left that woman’s presence, I thought about the glory of God in Jesus Christ. That’s the kind of person I want to become. 

  1. Live reasonably before all people. 

5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand (Php 4:5)

Perhaps some of your translations read, “Let your gentleness be known to everyone.” Peace in the Christian life comes by relating to others in a manner resembling Christ’s humility and self-giving. It is obeying Philippians 2:2-4.

 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Php 2:2–4

The lack of peace we often experience in our lives can result from fractured relationships that go unreconciled because of our own failure to be reasonable and gentle. 

When we turn our eyes away from Christ and stop believing that he is near, we take matters into our own hands. We too easily justify unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment, and selfishness over the smallest transgressions.  

Friends, love in the body of Christ is reasonable and gentle. It seeks to preserve the church’s peace by being Christlike toward one another. 

  1. Don’t be anxious about anything. 

 6 do not be anxious about anything (Php 4:5–6)

Anxiety is the opposite of peace in the Christian life. To be anxious is to habitually worry, particularly about things that are in the future. The anxiety referred to here is the same as Jesus refers to in Matthew 6. 

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his life span? (Mt 6:25–27)

Anxiety reveals a lot about our hearts. Biblical Counselor Jocelyn Wallace says that anxiety. 

  1. Points to what you most want. 
  2. Points to what you really believe. 
  3. Points to what you really think. 

Now, it is really important to see that Paul is not simply saying, “Stop it!” This is not a command to fix your own mental health but to pursue the Lord in prayer as a means of directing your worries to God. We are to be anxious about nothing but pray about everything. 

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Pe 5:6–7)

  1. Pray about everything. 

Peace in the Christian life comes in response to our prayers. 

but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Php 4:6–7)

Is it likely that many of the habitual problems in our Christian lives continue to unsettle us because they are not given to the Lord in prayer?

Here is the thing about prayer, though. It is only through prayer that a prayer life is deepened. God uses prayer to change us. Andy Davis describes prayer as a blacksmith’s furnace. 

“Prayer is the furnace, the coal bed by which our hearts are heated up from their black coldness toward the things of God to desire what we did not desire before: His pleasure, his presence, his face, his glory, our neighbors, the salvation of lost people, relief for the poor, improvement in marriages, the establishment of faithful ministries, etc.”– Andy Davis 

When will we stop settling for a bare minimum of God’s power and presence in our lives and cultivate a rich prayer life?

 Does your prayer life reflect a belief that God promises a peace that surpasses all understanding? 

  1. Think about what is good, beautiful, and true. 

8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Php 4:8)

  1. Practice the godliness of faithful examples.