Understanding that our ability to pray in faith and boldness is dependent upon our experiential knowledge of what God has done for us through His Son, Jesus, I read through the book of Ephesians and wrote out its summary in a prayer of thanksgiving for all He has done for us. But when I got to chapter 6 where we are commanded to take up the armor of God, thanksgiving transformed to a declaration of our stance and ended in a supplication for transformation.
As you read, please consider placing yourself and/or your congregations, or friends in the lines of this post for this is a crucial time for the body of Christ.
May the Lord our God bring deeper revelation of His goodness and the fullness of His Kingdom.
Sincerely,
Renee
Ephesians
Chapter One
Thank you, God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for
blessing us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ; for
You chose us in Him and predestined us to adoption as sons & daughters by
Jesus Christ.
According to the good pleasure of Your will, You have made
us accepted in Your Beloved Christ Jesus, having redeemed us through His blood
and the riches of Your grace which You make to abound toward us in all wisdom.
We have trusted in Him when we heard the gospel of our
salvation and in Your graciousness, you have sealed us with the Holy Spirit of
Promise who is the guarantee of our inheritance.
Therefore Father, give us the spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of YOU (Father, Son & Holy Spirit). Give us
understanding of the hope of YOUR calling and the exceeding greatness of YOUR
power toward us who believe.
Ephesians
Chapter Two
Thank you, GOD, for you made us alive in Christ Jesus even
when we were dead in our trespasses and sin and YOU have made us sit together
in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. For by Grace YOU saved us through the
gift of faith that we might become YOUR workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
for the good works which You have prepared for us to walk in by faith.
Thank you, God and Father for Christ Jesus who is our peace,
having removed the wall of separation that keeps us from You, for through Him
we all have access by one Spirit to you Father. And now, in Jesus, YOU are
fitting us together in love to become a dwelling place for YOU in the Spirit.
Therefore, come close that we may look into your face and be transformed – that
we might love each other as You love.
Ephesians
Chapter Three
Therefore, Father, help us understand the unsearchable riches
of Christ and see the fellowship of the mystery that has been hidden in YOU and
revealed through Jesus Christ, that the CHURCH might make it known to the
principalities and powers in the heavenly places.
Grant us, according to the riches of YOUR glory, to be
strengthened with might through YOUR Spirit, that we would be grounded in Love
and that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith, that we may be filled
with all the fullness of God and that we, the church would bring glory to You
by Christ Jesus.
Ephesians
Chapter Four
Thank you, Father, that through the power of Your grace and
presence of Your Holy Spirit, we by faith, can walk worthy of the calling with
which we have been called; that we can walk in humility, gentleness, patience
and kindness toward one another; always endeavoring to keep the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace.
Thank you, Father, for the gifts to the Body of Christ, that
we might be equipped for the good works of ministry; for the strengthening and
building up of the Body of Christ, for the maturing of the saints and for
defeating the works of darkness, trickery and deceitful platting that stand
against the Lordship of Jesus Christ, His Kingdom, the increase of His
government and His Bride.
Thank you for Your great mercy, for through the blood of
Jesus we have been set free from the deceitful lusts of the flesh so that we
may be renewed in the spirit of our mind and putting on the new man which was
created according to God, holy and righteous, we put away all bitterness,
wrath, anger, clamor, slander and lying, knowing you have empowered us to be
kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving.
Ephesians
Chapter Five
Because of all that You have done for us, we desire to be
imitators of You, Father, for You have made us You dear children. Give us faith
to receive the empowerment of Your grace to walk in Love as Jesus did, that we
might offer our lives as a sweet-smelling aroma to You and a testimony of Your
goodness to the world.
Give us revelation and wisdom to understand Holiness that we
might stand on the solid ground of experiencing the redeeming power of Christ’s
grace and freedom from sin that allows us to walk in the light as children of
light, producing in our lives the fruit of the Spirit.
You have called us to redeem the time, because the days are
evil. Therefore, we will seek to understand the will of the Lord; we will seek
Your presence that we might continually be being filled to over flowing with
Your Spirit; we will continue to give thanks to You, God our Father, in the
name of our Lord Jesus; and we will humble ourselves and submit to one another
in the fear of God, learning to honor one another as You have honored us by
giving us Your Name and empowering us by giving us permission to act in the
Name of Your Son, and our Lord, Jesus the Christ.
Ephesians
Chapter Six – The Declaration
Therefore,
we, your people, declare, that our strength is our Lord’s strength and we stand
in the power of His might!
We
have put on the whole armor of God, for we are clothed in Christ Jesus,
therefore we are able to stand against the deceitful schemes of the devil.
Knowing
that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, we cover the body of Christ in
prayer and the unbeliever in the love of God. We take up our spiritual weapons
of warfare against the rulers of darkness and spiritual hosts of wickedness in
the heavenly places.
Our
waist is girded with truth-the reality of the spiritual condition of this
universe and Jesus is the Truth, the one who manifested the true nature of our
Father in Heaven. It is He that opened our eyes to the true enemy of our soul,
the devil and his army.
Having
put on the breastplate of righteousness, we stand in boldness before our King.
We no longer fear his condemnation for we have been made righteous by faith in Jesus
and the power of His grace that He has abundantly poured out upon us.
Our
feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, Jesus is our Peace
and He has given us authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over
all the power of the enemy whose only desire is to steal, kill and destroy
those who are made in the image of God.
We
take up the shield of faith to quench the fiery darts of the wicked one,
understanding that the LORD is our rock and our fortress and our deliverer; our
God, our strength, in whom we will trust; Our shield and the power of our salvation,
our stronghold. [Ps 18:2}
We
now march forward, wearing the helmet of our Savior, having been sealed by the
Holy Spirit, the insignia of our Lord and King, we take up the sword of the
Spirit which is the spoken word of God, that we might execute the written judgements
against the enemy of our souls who plot our destruction and rebel against their
Creator. [Ps 149]
Lastly,
we wield this sword of the Spirit by seeking Your face in supplication and
studying the scriptures, listening for Your voice to direct our prayers
according to Your spoken word in our hearts; declaring Your will in boldness
knowing that what ever we ask in faith, believing, you will do, that the Father
may be glorified in the Son.
The Request...
Therefore,
we humbly ask you, Holy Spirit, to teach us how to pray in this season. We lay
down our prayer habits, preferences and rituals and we acknowledge that the battle has changed, and we, your
people, are in disarray upon the battle field. Though many have followed closely
behind you, still many more have been lost in the fog of war, or captured by
lies and shipwrecked, or grown weary and hopeless. Arise, in us, and set us on
solid ground, that we might move in the fullness of unity in the bond of peace.
Give us eyes to see and ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church. Establish
your people as a people of prayer who listen for Your direction and proclaim it
in faith with power and authority to release Your will upon the earth.
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