That You May Be Filled

Have you ever felt spiritually weak, as if Jesus is in your life but not really at home? Or perhaps you've wondered if God's love truly reaches you in your current circumstances? If so, you're not alone. These are common struggles for many believers, but there's hope and power available to us through prayer.

In Ephesians 3:14-19, we find one of the most profound and powerful prayers in the Bible. This prayer isn't just a quick blessing, but a heartfelt intercession that can transform our spiritual lives. Let's dive into the depths of this prayer and discover how it can revolutionize our relationship with God.

The prayer begins with a powerful image: the apostle on his knees, pouring out his heart to God. This isn't a casual conversation, but an earnest plea for God to do something deep and lasting in the hearts of believers. As we examine this prayer, we'll see four specific requests, each building upon the other, creating a spiritual staircase that leads us to fullness in Christ.

1. Strengthened with Power

The first request is for spiritual strength. Life's greatest battles aren't always external; often, they're internal. When we're weak on the inside, everything on the outside feels heavier. Small problems become big ones, discouragement sets in faster, and temptations feel harder to resist.

But this strength isn't something we muster up on our own. It comes from God's Spirit, according to the riches of His glory. This isn't God giving out of His riches, but according to His riches - a blank check, if you will, filled with all we need. God doesn't give sparingly; He gives abundantly.

Many Christians never lay hold of this strength. They're saved and heading to heaven, but running on empty here on earth. God didn't design us to live this way. He wants us to live in the power of the Spirit every single day, not just on Sundays or in emotional highs, but in the grind of everyday life.

2. Christ Dwelling in Our Hearts

The second request builds on the first: that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith. This isn't just about Christ being in our hearts - He's already there if we've accepted Him as Savior. No, this is about Christ being at home in our hearts.

There's a big difference between being present and being comfortable. Sometimes we treat God like a guest we're not quite comfortable with, keeping Him in the "living room" of our lives but not letting Him into the private areas. This prayer is asking that Christ wouldn't just be an occasional guest, but a permanent resident in every part of our lives.

It takes faith to let Jesus into every room of your life. It means coming to the point where you say, "God, all of me, all of my life, is yours." Have you given God the keys to your life?

3. Comprehending the Magnitude of God's Love

The third request is that we may be able to comprehend the breadth, length, depth, and height of Christ's love. Paul uses both agricultural and architectural language here - we're to be rooted and grounded in love. God's love is where our life is meant to be planted and built.

This love is described as having dimensions that are beyond our understanding. Its breadth speaks of God's welcoming love, wide enough for everyone. Its length shows His lasting love, stretching through all eternity. Its depth reveals His rescuing love, reaching us at our lowest points. And its height displays His exalting love, lifting us up into His presence.

This love is reliable, unchangeable, consistent, dependable, steadfast, unwavering, and enduring. Nothing can separate us from it. David, an adulterer, never found the end of God's love. Peter, a liar, never found the bottom of it. Paul, once a murderer, never found a limit to it. God's love for us is far greater than anything we can imagine.

4. Filled with All the Fullness of God

The final request is the culmination of the previous three: that we might be filled with all the fullness of God. This is the destination, the goal, the high point of everything Paul has been praying for. It's not about head knowledge; it's about being more like Christ and living in light of our identity in Him.

Here's the key: if you skip the first three steps, you won't experience the fourth. It's like trying to inflate a balloon with a hole in it. No matter how much air you put in, it won't fill up until the leak is sealed. Similarly, if the inner man isn't strong, if Christ isn't at home in your heart, if you aren't rooted in His love, then you'll never fully experience the Spirit's fullness.

Fullness doesn't come from effort; it comes from trust. It's not about trying harder; it's about believing. It's about taking everything we've learned about our identity in Christ and actually living it out. It's about letting these truths change how we think, how we love, how we respond to difficulty, and how we follow Jesus on Monday just as much as on Sunday.

What good is it to know that we're chosen, forgiven, loved, valuable, accepted, and capable in Christ if we're still feeling defeated? What good is it to know that we've been raised with Christ if we're still walking like we're dead in sin? This prayer isn't just about enlightenment; it's about enablement - being who God called us to be and living who we are in Jesus Christ.

So here's the challenge: Don't just learn this prayer. Live it. Don't just believe it, but be filled by it. Make it your prayer. Let it be the foundation of your spiritual life. Let it change you. Because when these truths move from your head to your heart, everything changes. That's when you can become the Christian that God called you to be.

May you be strengthened with power, may Christ dwell in your heart by faith, may you be rooted and grounded in love, and may you be filled with all the fullness of God. This is more than a wish; it's a promise available to every believer. Will you reach out and grasp it today?