A Word for Today | Ephesians 1:15-23
Ephesians chapter 1 combines two things that some believers do not think should go together. In verses 3-14, Paul expounds the sovereignty of God for our salvation. Then in verses 15-23, Paul prays of our spiritual enlightenment. The question is raised: If God is sovereign over all things, ordaining everything in advance according to a predetermined plan, what is the point of prayer? For some, this is a problem that calls the whole matter of God’s sovereignty into question. “We know God wants us to pray,” they argue, “and the idea of a sovereign, predestinating God seems incompatible with prayer.” One answer to this question is to consider the example of Paul. Clearly, Paul teaches both God’s sovereignty and prayer in Ephesians 1, so they must go together. Furthermore, since Paul clearly believed in God’s predestination, did this keep him from prayer? Hardly! (The same goes for evangelism, by the way.)
Reflecting on Ephesians 1, we can note three things about prayer and the sovereignty of God. First, Paul presents God’s sovereignty as the reason for prayer. This is Paul’s explicit statement in verses 15 and 16: “For this reason, . . . I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.” “For this reason” looks back on Paul’s teaching of God’s sovereign grace in Christ. If God was only partly sovereign, then we would only partly thank Him for our blessing. But since every blessing falls from above (Ja. 1:17), we pray to thank the only Sovereign, our gracious God.
Ephesians 1 further shows that God’s sovereignty proves our need for prayer. Since God is sovereign, we must pray to Him because salvation wholly depends on the spiritual resources only He can provide. So do our prayers change God and His will? Clearly, the answer to this question is No. If God “works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Eph. 1:11), then our prayers do not change Him (and thank the Lord for that!). But do prayers change things? Here, the answer is clearly Yes! God has ordained our prayers as a means to His will, and when we pray His will is done.
Finally, Ephesians 1 presents God’s sovereignty as a great encouragement to prayer. We gain this encouragement when we see, as Paul teaches, Christ exalted at God’s right hand on our behalf. Why would the Father send His Son into the world to die for our sins, rise from the grave, and ascend to authority and dominion in heaven if He did not intend to answer our prayers? Indeed, as “head over all things to the church, which is his body” (Eph. 1:22-23), Christ sits on the throne of heaven with the Father, presenting our every request through His nail-scarred hands. For God exercises His sovereignty not only for us but also in Christ. What greater encouragement could we have to pray than to see “Him who loves us” (Rev. 1:5) both receiving and dispensing our prayers at the throne of power and grace in heaven. God is sovereign! Therefore, let us pray.
In Christ’s Love,
Pastor Phillips