“And I pray that you . . . may have power . . . to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:17-19)
The last line of Paul’s huge prayer for the Ephesians may be the biggest request, yet. To boil it down, we left out a lot of important stuff with those “. . .” things – stuff you’ll need to really understand the whole idea.
Still, here’s the bottom line: Paul prays that they will know the “beyond-knowing” love of Christ. In other words, he wants them to know in their lives – to experience for real – something they cannot understand with their brains alone. Do you want to experience Christ’s love in a way that can’t be understood? Do you want to feel and be loved by God like that?
I hope so, because the last phrase of Paul’s prayer is that knowing that love is the path to being filled all the way up – to your maximum capacity – with God.
So you are rooted in this immense love. You grow in it. You know it. It lives in your heart through Christ. And it is the way to be full – all the way to the top – of God. That’s a big prayer.
Think: Has thinking about this prayer this week made you feel like you need to know and understand more about God’s love for you in Jesus? If so, do you think there’s a way to know God’s love better (in addition to praying about it)?
Pray: For yourself and a Christian friend, ask God for the power to know his love that surpasses knowledge – that you may both be filled to the measure with all the fullness of God.
Do: Remind yourself of some of the aspects of God’s love for you by reviewing 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.