| Ephesians 3:14-21
The Fourth Step to Power: Prayer
Ephesians 3:14-21, "For this reason I kneel
before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and
on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious
riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit
in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts
through faith. And pray that you, being rooted and established
in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to
grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you
may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all
we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work
within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." There
is power in prayer. Prayer unlocks the power of God, both
within us and in our surroundings and circumstances.
1 Kings 18:20-39, "So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel
and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah went before
the people and said, 'How long will you waver between two
opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God,
follow him.' But the people said nothing. Then Elijah said
to them, 'I am the only one of the Lord's prophets left, but
Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for
us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it
into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it.
I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not
set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and
I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by
fire—he is God.'
Then all the people said, 'What you say is good.' Elijah said
to the prophets of Baal, 'Choose one of the bulls and prepare
it first since there are so many of you. Call on the name
of your god, but do not light the fire.' So they took the
bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon.
'O Baal, answer us!' they shouted. But there was no response;
no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had
made.
At noon Elijah began to taunt them, 'Shout louder!' he said.
'Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy,
or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.'
So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords
and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed.
Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying
until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no
response, no one answered, no one paid attention. Then Elijah
said to all the people, 'Come here to me.' They came to him,
and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which was in ruins.
Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended
from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying,
'Your name shall be Israel.' With the stones he built an altar
in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large
enough to hold two seahs [That is, probably about 13 quarts
(about 15 liters)] of seed. He arranged the wood, cut the
bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to
them, 'Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the
offering and on the wood.' 'Do it again,' he said, and they
did it again.
'Do it a third time,' he ordered, and they did it the third
time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled
the trench.
At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward
and prayed: 'O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let
it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am
your servant and have done all these things at your command.
Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that
you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts
back again.'
Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice,
the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the
water in the trench.
When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried,
'The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!'"
The Church needs the fire of the Lord. Romans 12:1-2. "Therefore,
I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your
bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this
is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer
to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what
God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." The
sacrifice is us now, not bulls and goats. The fire we need
is the Holy Spirit. Revival is when the Holy Spirit
comes upon a group of people simultaneously.
The Fourth Step to Power: The fourth step to power encompasses
all the other three steps. The true heart of prayer is 1)
denying yourself, 2) humbling yourself, 3) seeking God's face,
and 4) praying to God. Our prayers to God should include and
encompass all the other three steps.
Hebrews 4:14-16, "Therefore, since we have a great high priest
who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let
us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have
a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as
we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the
throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy
and find grace to help us in our time of need."
When we pray we must understand that God is sovereign. We
must pray, yes, with boldness and confidence, but tempered
with humility, understanding what we are—nothing. You
can't do any good without the power of God in your life. Ask
yourself this question: "What's the ratio of your prayer time
and your T.V. time?
Let's read Psalm 4. It's quite a psalm about prayer and it's
benefits. Psalm 4:1-8, "Answer me when I call to you, O my
righteous God, give me relief from my distress; be merciful
to me and hear my prayer. How long, O men, will you turn my
glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek
false gods? Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for
himself; the Lord will hear when I call to him.
In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search
your hearts and be silent. Offer right sacrifices and trust
in the Lord. Many are asking, 'Who can show us any good?'
Let the light of your face shine upon us, O Lord. You have
filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and
new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you
alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety."
Paul says we will be strengthened with might in the inner
man through His Spirit. Actively pursue God for His Spirit
and intervention through that Spirit.
Revival is the Spirit of God coming on a group of people all
at the same time. Acts 1:7-8, "He said to them: 'It is not
for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his
own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and
in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Read
Acts 2:1-4, 5-13, 14-40.
Pursue God for his Spirit until it happens, giving us strength
and spiritual depth. Our faith is seen in our actions.
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