“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 I 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 that love that surpasses understanding – that you may be filled to the measure with all the fullness of God.” ~Ephesians 3:16-19
There is so much to unpack in these verses. My first reaction is the how I’ve been praying since before my children were born that they would love the Lord even more than I do. I didn’t realize at the time that I virtually echoed Paul’s prayer.
And this verse reminds me of the most wonderful song called The Love of God.
Could we with ink the oceans fill, and were the sky of parchment made.
Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade.
To write the love of God above would drain the oceans dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole though stretched from sky to sky.
The writer of the hymn attributes the verse to an anonymous inmate of a prison cell. I so love that part of the hymn and still tear up when I think of how much the Lord adores us.
But the thing I like best about this verse in Ephesians is how I can pray it right along with Paul over people I come into contact with. I pray it over my children who are believers. I pray it over young people who are struggling. I pray it over seekers and people I love who have embraced the empty life that the world offers. It lets me put scripture into action.
Your turn: What does this scripture from Ephesians, or the section of the hymn inspire in you?
