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No.4.
"Praying always . . . . . and for me . . . . ." (6: 18, 19).
pp. 170 - 173
In the doctrinal section, Paul stops for a while after setting out the Will of the Father,
the Work of the Son, and the Witness of the Spirit. It is as though he had placed before
the Ephesians such a comprehensive volume of doctrines, that he must pause, and give
them an opportunity to digest what he had written, and best of all, he prays for them. In
the doctrinal section we have Paul's prayer for the Ephesians, and in the practical section
Paul asks the Ephesians to pray for him.
The introduction to Paul's prayer is quoted:
"Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the
saints, cease not to give thanks to you, making mention of you in my prayers" (1: 15, 16).
Then follows the prayer in verses 17-22. We will consider it later, but let us see the
other references to prayer first.
In chapter 3: there is another prayer where Paul begins: "For this cause I bow my
knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ". For some reason he does not say "I pray
to the Father . . . . .". He uses a Greek word kampto, which means to bend, and it occurs
four times in the N.T. All four are in the epistles written by Paul, as follows:
". . . . . seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal"
(Romans 11: 4).
"For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every
tongue shall confess to God" (Rom. 14: 11).
"For this cause, I bow my knees unto the Father . . . . ." (Eph. 3: 14).
"That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in
earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2: 10, 11).
Paul had written in chapters 1:, 2: & 3: of so many wonderful things, and intertwined
was the reference to the greatness of God, the Creator, and the eternal purpose which He
purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. He must have been humbled at the thought that we,
who by nature are quite unworthy, have been chosen by God, given an inheritance, and
that even now the manifold wisdom of God is being made known by the Church to
principalities and powers in heavenly places. No wonder he bowed his knees in
submission to the will and purpose of God in humility and thankfulness. He then wrote
that marvelous prayer which is recorded in verses 16 to 21.
In chapter 6: we have the two verses which are the concern of our study:
"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto
with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; and for me, that utterance may be
given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the
gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I
ought to speak" (Eph. 6: 18-20).