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My father worked in the automotive industry, and I heard him say, “That mechanic is a mechanic’s mechanic,” meaning other mechanics would go to the “mechanic’s mechanic” for advice.
From reading many business leaders’ books, I would say, “Peter Drucker is a business leader’s leader” (If you are entrepreneurial and a leader and don’t know Drucker, repentance is needed!).
Ephesians 3:14-21 is a Prayer Warrior’s Prayer.
I’ve learned more about praying by memorizing and meditating on this prayer than any other source. I find this prayer more instructive than the Lord’s Prayer and more helpful than prayers in the Psalms.
How can we not be intrigued by a prayer that reaches this conclusion at the end?
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us (v. 20, NASB1995).
I want to pray in faith believing that God can do more than I think He can.
Don’t you?
The Apostle Paul teaches that a prayer of belief starts with a simple concept…
For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father (v. 14).
- Submission
Submission begins a great prayer. Receiving answered prayer means working through doubts and grievances to faith in God’s goodness. An answer to a specific request doesn’t start by acquiescence to life as it is or demanding that God change our situation.
Do not begin prayers with, “God, if it is your will,” or with false faith, “In the name of Jesus, I claim…” Begin with, “God, I love you and know that You want what is best for me. I want to pray Your thoughts and will.”
- Understanding Our Heritage
Paul continues…
From whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name (v. 15).
We pray according to our families. Blessings and sins are passed through the generations. In my family, my grandmother and mother were great prayer warriors – and I’ve benefited greatly from their faith.
All followers of Jesus have a new heritage of faith along with a new family. As the Apostle Paul also teaches…
We have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15).
Understanding my earthly father, I knew what requests he would answer and which ones he wouldn’t. You get this same discernment when you know your heavenly Father.
If someone said to me, “I told my dad this morning that I wanted a car,” I would think, “Good luck.”
But if I heard this person say, “My father told me years ago that if I saved $3,000 as I worked in my early teenage years, he would buy me a car when I was sixteen. So tomorrow, I’m turning 16 and asking him for my car.”
I would think, “I wish I had a father like this person.”
We do have a heavenly Father. He wants to do more than provide a car, and a house, or eliminate our debt. He wants to reveal His abundance.
But we must live in sync with His will. By knowing our Father, we can have confidence in answers to our requests.
I’ve shared two of the secrets of The Prayer Warrior’s Prayer. Tomorrow, I will write other secrets that I have found in Ephesians 3:14-21 in Interruption #768.
Let’s be humble but confident in our Father when we pray.