“How Should I Pray?”
Ephesians 3:17a
“ … so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”
Verse 16 powerfully concludes in this first part of verse 17 with a truth about one of the many ways that the Holy Spirit has been given to empower our lives – “ … so that Christ may dwell in [OUR] hearts…”!
The Holy Spirit translates “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us” (John 1:14) into, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling IN ME!”
Do you realize the power of this truth? But that is often the problem… making true the promises of God so that it affects how we live. That is why we need the Holy Spirit of God to give us the power to live upon this promise “through faith”.
When this truth changes from “principle” to “power, it transforms the very way we live that I believe is encapsulated in Mother Teresa’s Daily Prayer:
“Dear Jesus,
Help me to spread Thy fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with Thy Spirit and love. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Thine. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Thy presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus. Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as You shine, so to shine as to be a light to others.”
God blesses us down to our very core! … And then invites us to pray this blessing upon others just as the Apostle Paul – and Mother Teresa – prayed it!!!
We should pray with the confidence that we have the strength and power of God “to manifest the Presence of Christ” from within “our hearts through faith”.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Pastor Denny