Pray Big: Kneel to the Father

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.” (Ephesians 3:14-15)

Most of the Christians I know, including me, have a prayer problem. Not only is prayer hard work and easy to skip, we’re often only half-convinced that it even matters. We believe God hears and answers prayer, generally speaking; we’re just not sure sometimes that our prayers are worth putting out there.

pb_350Sound harsh? If you and I really believed we were talking to the God of the universe – the God with unlimited power and unlimited patience and love and forgiveness for us in Christ – how often would we talk to him?

Our small faith leads to small prayers. When we do pray, we usually ask for little things that have to do with money and health and travel and relationships. Yes, God cares about all of those things with us, but we can also pray much, much bigger.

This week, we’re going to try to “kneel to the Father” along with Paul and copycat his giant prayers for his Ephesian readers. What he asks God for is, frankly, a little startling. I hope we’re not afraid to ask the same things for ourselves and those we care most about.

Think: Do you think it matters what position your body is in when you pray? Why do you think Paul made a point to say he kneels when praying here? How does kneeling or bowing or closing our eyes help us to pray more meaningfully?

Pray: Ask God to help you to approach him respectfully when you pray and to be glad to call him Father.

Do: Paul offers another great-to-copy prayer for the Ephesians in 1:15-23. Check it out.