Motivated by news that believers in Ephesus are thriving in faith toward Jesus and in love toward each other (perhaps news shared by Tychicus, Ephesians 6:21-22), Paul reports to them how he prays for them.

Compare Paul’s two prayer reports in Ephesians — Ephesians 1:15-23 and Ephesians 3:14-21. What themes do the two reports share?

Image © Erik Stenbakken at Goodsalt.com

Sometimes our default tone in prayer can be doleful, mourning over this challenge or that problem. Paul’s prayer reports in Ephesians suggest that thanksgiving is the native language of prayer. We gather up the blessings of God and thank Him for them. We seek to perceive God at work in difficult circumstances and praise Him for His transforming presence in our lives. Celebrating the grace and power of the exalted Jesus (Ephesians 1:20-23), we thank Him for blessing those in our circle of influence. Here is Paul’s transforming secret for prayer: prayer is the key of praise and thanksgiving.

Paul also said that he does “not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers” (Ephesians 1:16, NKJV; see also Philippians 1:3-4; 1 Thessalonians 1:2; and 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

What does it really mean to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)? It cannot mean that we are always kneeling before God in prayer. It does mean that, blessed by God’s Spirit, we move through life with hearts open to the presence and power of God, seeking cues for thanksgiving to Him. It means a readiness to process the issues of life in the presence of God, to seek divine counsel as we experience the twists and turns that life brings. It means living not in estrangement from God but in engagement with Him, ever open to divine leading.

We too often view prayer as a nicety, an add-on to discipleship that is to be exercised when convenient. Paul illustrates a different view. Paul takes seriously the task of praying for the believers in Ephesus, doing so both by giving thanks for them (Ephesians 1:16; compare Ephesians 1:3-14) and by interceding for them (Ephesians 1:17-23; compare Ephesians 3:14-21). For him, prayer is a central, or even the central, task of Christian faith. These verses provide a moving call to prayer, an invitation for each of us to consider our own “prayer ministry” in the light of Paul’s dedication to it.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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