A Guide to Transformative Prayer: How to Pray for the Impossible

Nov 25

What if your prayers could open the door to something greater than you could ever imagine? Dive into Paul's prayers in Ephesians 3 and discover how to align your heart with God's power, purpose, and fullness.

Prayer for Spiritual Strength
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family[a] 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—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, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Four Emphases of Praying Into Greater Things Than You Can Imagine

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

Greater things than you can imagine; I don’t want to take that phrase lightly because the Apostle Paul uses that vernacular. But it’s important to notice that as we read that phrase, Paul shares this flowing out of prayer. We know he’s praying because in a few verses earlier (Ephesians 3:14), he shared, “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father.”

If he said he was praying “for this reason,” what reason(s) is he talking about?

God has blessed us with every blessing in the heavenly places (1:1)
We’ve been drawn to God from the foundation of the world (1:4)
We’ve been adopted as sons through Jesus Christ (1:5)
We have redemption through Jesus’ blood (1:7)
We have forgiveness of our sins (1:7)
We have the riches of His grace (1:7)
We have the mystery of His will unfolded before us (1:9)
We have an inheritance in Him (1:11)
We have the seal of the Holy Spirit (1:13)
We have grace by which we were saved (2:5)
We’ve been seated in the Heavenly places in Christ Jesus (2:6)
“We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (2:9)
We’ve been brought near by the blood of Christ (2:13).
Through Jesus, we have access through one Spirit to the Father (2:18)
We’ve become citizens of the Kingdom and members of the household of God (2:19).

Paul knows that when we work, we work, but when we pray, God works. Personally, I’d rather have God work for me than my working for Him. So, while we may gather in our churches on Sunday to worship, that’s not the most important building. The most important building is the building up of ourselves in prayer.

The more we conform to the patterns of prayer found in the Bible, particularly the New Testament, the more we’ll see God’s power, enjoy God, and join Him in all He’s doing. You will never be satisfied with a surface-level relationship with Jesus.

From Scripture, we see that Paul prayed a lot, but he also did so with great purpose. From the first three chapters of Ephesians, Paul modeled two sets of prayers for us as followers of Jesus:

In the first prayer of chapter one, Paul emphasizes divine enlightenment. This type of prayer is for a spirit of revelation and the knowledge of God to rest upon the reading and proclamation of His Word among the church at Ephesus.
The second prayer in chapter three emphasizes divine enablement. This type of prayer is for the power of God working among the people of God. When we live the Christian life on our own power, we are miserable, anemic, weak, ineffective, powerless, and outside God’s intention and design.

Paul knew that if God works in the inner person to have spiritual strength to follow Jesus, then the inner person is empowered, and the outer person is taken care of. In turn, this will lead to a deeper experience of Christ.

Let’s look at how Paul prayed. He prayed for believers to know God’s power on 4 levels: strength, depth, apprehension, and fullness.

1) Praying For God’s Strength in Our Circumstances

Most Christians will pray for strength at some point in their life, if not regularly.

Someone told me that if the Holy Spirit were taken out of the world, most of what Christians are doing would go right on, and nobody would know the difference. However, see the difference in how Paul prayed:

“I bow my knees before the Father (in prayer)…that according to the riches of His glory, He may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.” Ephesians 3:1a/16 (notation added)

The presence of the Holy Spirit in a believer's life is evidence of salvation. But the Holy Spirit's power is enablement for Christian living, discipleship, and mission, and God designed this power for His church. This is why, in Acts 1:8, Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jesus performed His ministry in the power of the Spirit. When we move in faith, not in a power of our own, but with the person of the Holy Spirit, to honor God’s truth and love for people, we’re reflecting how Jesus modeled this. We see it in Luke 4:1, where “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.” We also see it in Acts 10:38, “(Behold) how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”

If I came to your house, stood in your living room, and proclaimed, “You’re welcome here anytime you wish,” that would be foolish, right? That’s your home! Who am I to come into your home and make such a statement? However, the Bible says that if you’re in Christ, then you’ve been bought with a price because the blood of the lamb was shed for you. You are no longer your own, and you belong to God. In other words, you’re His house, and because of that, God placed the Holy Spirit to dwell in you. Because the Holy Spirit dwells within you, there’s a power available to you beyond what you can imagine.

As you read the Book of Acts, you see the importance of the Holy Spirit in the life of all believers. There are 59 references to the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts. God doesn’t give the Spirit’s power to us “out of His riches” but “according to,” which is a far greater thing. But here’s the phrase I want you to catch:

“I bow my knees before the Father (in prayer)…that according to the riches of His glory, He may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.” Ephesians 3:1a/16 (emphasis added)

If I am a billionaire and give you $10, I have given you out of my riches; but if I give you a million dollars, I have given you according to my riches. In this passage, Paul describes what’s available to you because God is willing. We should pray that God would pour out, according to His riches, a strengthening of His power through the Holy Spirit.

2) Praying for God’s Depth

The author Calvin Miller wrote, “Deep is not a place we visit in our search for God; it’s what happens to us when we find Him.”

In Ephesians 3:17, Paul wrote, “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith – that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth.”

Note those three picturesque words used: dwell, rooted, and grounded.

Dwell: The word dwell means “to settle down and feel at home.” Paul prayed for a deeper experience between Christ and His people. This is a picture of Jesus settling down and feeling at home in our hearts—not a surface relationship but an ever-deepening friendship.

Rooted: This moves us into the organic, living picture. The tree must get its roots deep into the soil if it is to have both nourishment and stability, and the Christian must have his/her spiritual roots deep into the love of God. If there is to be power in the Christian life, then there must be depth. The roots must go deeper and deeper into the love of Christ.

Grounded: For a tree to be rooted means it is grounded. This is an architectural term; it refers to the foundations we build. Once I was in New York, and went to lower Manhattan when the World Trade Center was being built. I marveled at how deep the foundation was for the new building. I share that because, when it comes to foundations, if you don’t go deep, you can’t go high.

While contemplating our foundation, consider this advantage we have: If you're constructing a building, the foundation must be built on the front end. But for a Christian, your foundation can be developed throughout your journey and can deepen. For example, if two college roommates have a falling out, they may seek new roommates. But if a husband and wife, who love each other, have a disagreement, the trial only deepens their love as they seek to solve the problems. The storm that blows reveals the strength of the foundation and the roots.

In our passage, the Apostle Paul prays for the church at Ephesus to have God’s depth and for their dwelling place to be rooted in Christ and growing for God’s glory.

3) Praying for Apprehension

A.W. Tozer said that what comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us. In light of that, remember what Paul prayed:

“…May have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge…” Ephesians 3:18-19a

The English words “comprehend” and “apprehend” both stem from the Latin word prehendere, which means “to grasp.” We say that a monkey has a “prehensile tail,” meaning its tail is able to grasp a tree limb and hold on. Our word “comprehend” carries the idea of mentally grasping something, while “apprehend” suggests laying hold of it for yourself. In other words, it’s possible to understand something but not really make it your own.

What Paul describes is the Body of Christ taking hold of God’s truth for oneself. It’s possible to understand something but not make it your own. It’s one thing to know Jesus died for your sins, but it’s another for you to say, “Jesus died for my sins.” It’s one thing to look at Paul’s pattern of prayer, but it’s another to incorporate this pattern into your prayer life as you grow in your relationship with Christ.

4) Praying for the Fullness of God

“…that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:19b

If I take a jar and dip it into the ocean and lift it up, my jar is not full of the ocean but full of its inexhaustible, vast fullness. Paul informs us here that some power is available but not being used, much like power stored in a battery.

Dane Ortlund wrote, “The miracles of Jesus are not interruptions of the natural order, but a restoration of the natural order.” We’re so accustomed to a fallen world that’s overrun with sickness, disease, pain, and death that this brokenness has started to feel natural when, in reality, it’s an interruption. When Jesus heals and delivers someone, it isn’t a supernatural miracle in a natural world. Those miracles are the only truly natural thing in a world that’s been demonized and broken. Jesus walked the earth in demonstration of God’s fullness, and in the process, Jesus was re-humanizing the dehumanized and unclean.

Once, the church I was pastoring held a weekend retreat. On Friday night, the first day of the retreat, we had a guest teacher named Larry Eddings, who was open to the Holy Spirit, and we saw an incredible movement at the retreat. Many people came out of different oppressions and experienced Christ’s renewal. At the end of the night, Larry and I were debriefing, and I asked, “We’ve seen God do so much, but it’s only the first night! What else is there? Where else can the retreat go?” He replied, “There is always more of God.”

More of God

How can you incorporate these patterns of prayer into your life?

How can you pray these patterns into your local body of believers?

How can you pray these patterns for your city?

Would you be willing to pray for yourself and others that we would know the fullness of God?

There are greater things than you can imagine that are available to you as a believer, which is why Paul wrote, “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.” What God can do goes beyond what we can imagine. According to the power that's at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

TL;DR

Paul’s prayers in Ephesians 3 focus on God’s power and purpose.
He prays for strength through the Holy Spirit, asks for believers to be rooted in Christ’s love, and emphasizes understanding and experiencing God’s fullness.
Prayer aligns us with God’s work. It deepens our faith and transforms our lives.
Through prayer, we tap into God’s immeasurable power. There is always more of God to seek.

Related Reading

Developing a Lifestyle of Persistent Prayer by Rev. Paul Lawler

How to Move Mountains with Prayer by Rev. Paul Lawler

Why Doesn’t God Answer My Prayer by Rev. Paul Lawler

Three Keys to a Better Prayer Life by Rev. Paul Lawler