The Diet of My Prayer Life

Read: Ephesians 3

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father..." Ephesians 3:14

Examine:

In the verses that follow, everything that Paul says is a prayer for the people of the Church at Ephesus. Paul literally lived his life for the benefit of others. His pursuit of God through Jesus was completely focused on seeing other people come to a deeper understanding of the grace given by God, or to come to understand the power of this grace for the first time. His life was spent poured out for the betterment of others. His prayers were spent pleading for others. His knees were bent to see the kingdom of Heaven come into the lives of others.

Apply:

This does not reflect my prayer life. Most of my prayers are personal in nature. I have a tendency to get wrapped up in my own little world and most of my pursuit of God becomes consumed by my desires to establish my kingdom here on Earth. There is a time and a place for these types of prayers, but they should not be the main focus. Personal prayers are like desserts. They are ok in moderation, but they are unhealthy if they are enjoyed in excess.

In terms of prayer, understanding the riches of God's grace is the meat in prayer diet. I need to bow my knees and pray that God will expand my experience of His grace in my life. I need to know that grace is not some theological concept that exists in books. Grace is the life altering power of God working in my soul. Grace is the mechanism that allows the power of God to rest on my life. The grace of God is a hope that never fails, a joy that cannot run dry, and a life that only gets better in death. The grace of God is a game changer for the person who receives it. It is the good news of the gospel. It is life in abundance. It is my greatest treasure, and I should never cease striving to know it more richly.

Out of the overflow of my experience of grace, I need to then understand that the stewardship of this grace is the vegetable aspect of my prayer diet. God does not work in my life for the purpose of making me feel better. Everything He gives to me He does so with the ultimate purpose of providing me with something to share with another. If God does not intend for me to live my life for this purpose, then Him leaving me here on earth makes no sense at all. If His work in my life was all about my relationship with Him, then He would have raptured me the moment I accepted Christ. Desserts and meats must be eaten in moderation. Vegetables, on the other hand, can be freely taken and enjoyed. The majority of my prayers have to be comprised of my passionate pursuit of God's grace in the lives of others.

Pray:

My prayer life mainly consists of desserts and meats. The mental image I have of this is of a man morbidly obese who has put his heart at risk. I have been a poor steward of the grace that You have given me. I bend my knees but I bend them for my own gain. I ask that You forgive me for being self-centered. I am hopeless in this condition. In and of myself I do not have the power, knowledge, or wisdom to move the focus of my attention away from my personal needs and center it on the needs of others.

I pray that You change that in me. Break my heart for the things that break Yours. Fill my prayers with the powerful desire of Your Holy Spirit to expand His work in the lives of others. I desire to be found a faithful steward over everything that You have entrusted to me. Help me to understand the game-changing nature of Your grace in my life, and give me a unquenchable thirst to see this Grace at work in the lives of others.