Good morning. I have shared a few thoughts lately of Jesus having a place in our hearts. We’ve considered that we must make Him welcome, for He doesn’t force his way in. I have pointed out the need for some spiritual housecleaning, because we don’t want to welcome our Savior into a place that is a spiritual mess. Today, I would like to share a thought about Jesus’ presence in your heart that is a “so that” kind of passage. Meaning that this must happen so that Jesus may dwell within us. I will share from Ephesians 3:14-21. Those last two verses are kind of added on for today’s subject, but they are so spectacular that I don’t want you to miss them. For this reason I kneel before the Father,from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.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 Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
This is the prayer of the apostle Paul for those who recognize themselves as the people of Jesus Christ. These are words written to believers, reflective of an urgent prayer for us.
We must be stronger in our inner being to accommodate Jesus’ presence. We must be made more powerful in spirit by the Holy Spirit of God for Jesus to fully have His home in us. His indwelling is made possible through this powerful strengthening, and through our genuine faith.
Please note that his prayer is that we may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people to grasp the fullness of His love. It is a love that is too great for regular knowledge. His love requires divine power to be understood and to be lived in fullness.
And then there are those two “extra” verses. To God, who is able…able to do more than we could ever ask for, and able to do more than we are capable of imagining. May His power be at work within us, and His glory, in us and in our children, forever!
What a prayer! What a truth! What a promise!
May your heart be filled with the strength and the power needed to provide a place worthy of Him within you, within me, within our kids and within their kids yet to be!
Vern