(The following prayer is based on the book of Ephesians in the Bible.)
Our Father in heaven, holy, righteous, loving, and merciful God, gracious and glorious Father, we come before You in the name of Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to pray to You. We thank you and worship You! May praise be to You, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Father, You have blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms: for You chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in Your sight.
In love, You predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, according to Your pleasure and will, to the praise of Your glorious grace.
Such grace You have freely given us in Christ, your beloved one. In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of Your grace.
You lavished this grace on us with all wisdom and understanding. You did it with good pleasure. You purposed it in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
Father, You are the God who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of Your will, so that we, who are the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of Your glory.
Father, when we heard the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation, we believed in Christ and were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of us who are God’s possession—to the praise of Your glory.
For this reason, ever since we received faith in the Lord Jesus and love for all the saints, we have not stopped giving thanks to You, praying and asking that You, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that we may know You better. Enlighten our inner eyes, so that we may know the hope to which You have called us, the riches of Your glorious inheritance in the saints, and Your incomparably great power for us who believe. Your power is the same as the mighty strength You exerted when You raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at Your right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rulers and authorities, powers and dominions, and every name that is invoked—not only in the present age but also in the one to come. You placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church. The church is the body of Christ, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way.
Father, we acknowledge that we were dead in our transgressions and sins, but You made us alive. We used to live by following the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. We also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving your holy and righteous wrath.
But Father, because of Your great love and rich mercy for us, you made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.
It is by grace we have been saved. And You raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages You might show the incomparable riches of Your grace, expressed in Your kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
For it is by grace we have been saved, through faith—and this is not from ourselves, it is the gift of You, our God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
For we are the work of Your hand, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which You prepared in advance for us to do.
Therefore, we remember that formerly we who were Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who called themselves “the circumcised” (which is done in the body by human hands)—that at that time, we were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship of Israel and were foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God.
But now in Christ Jesus, we who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Father, we thank You for giving us Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. He Himself is our peace, who has made one the circumcised and uncircumcised and has destroyed the dividing wall between them. Not only that, our Lord Jesus abolished in His flesh the enmity between God and men. The enmity was caused by an irreconcilable contradiction between our sin and the law, which is holy and righteous. Jesus thus created in Himself one new humanity out of the two, making peace between God and men. He reconciled both the circumcised and uncircumcised to You through the cross, by which He put to death the enmity between You and us. He came and preached peace to all of us, both who were far away and who were near. For through Him, we all have access to You, our Father, by one Spirit.
Through the cross of Jesus Christ and the mighty power of His resurrection, we have been born anew, no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with Your people and members of Your household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him, the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him, we too are being built together to become a dwelling in which You live by Your Spirit.
Father, we thank you not only for the salvation you have accomplished in our Lord Jesus Christ but also for the subsequent administration of the gospel through the Holy Spirit and your servants. In the early days, Your servant Paul became a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of us Gentiles, and he prayed for us. You gave grace to Paul, entrusting him with the ministry concerning us, revealing to him the mystery of the gospel, and letting us understand his deep insight into the mystery of Christ. This mystery was not made known to people in other generations before that.
This mystery is that through the gospel, the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. The apostle became a servant of this gospel by the gift of Your grace given him through the working of Your power. You gave him this grace to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages in the past was kept hidden in You, the God who created all things. You intend that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to Your eternal purpose that You accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In Him and through faith in Him, we may approach You with freedom and confidence.
Father, therefore, we kneel before You, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. We pray that out of Your glorious riches, You may strengthen us with power through Your Spirit in our inner being so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. And we pray that, being rooted and established in love, we may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that we may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of Christ.
Father, You are able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to Your power that is at work within us. To You be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen!
Father, also remember that Your children are still sojourners on this earth today, bearing witness to Jesus Christ. May Your Holy Spirit, through Your word in Jesus Christ, exhort us so that we may live a life worthy of the calling we have received. Make us humble, gentle, patient, bearing with one another in love because we want to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Help us fully understand that there is one body and one Spirit, just as we were called to one hope; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Father, we thank You for giving each one of us grace as Christ apportioned it. As it says in Scripture: “When He ascended on high, He took many captives and gave gifts to His people.” Christ gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, and teachers to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.
By the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we will speak the truth in love, and we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Christ who is the head. From Him, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Father, may You strengthen us so that we no longer live as the worldly people do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the Your divine life because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. We who heard and learned Christ and were taught in Him according to the truth that is in Jesus are different. We have learned a different way of life. We were taught, with regard to our former way of life, to put off our old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of our minds; and to put on the new self. We thank and praise you, our God, for creating this new self to be like you in true righteousness and holiness.
Father, teach us to put off falsehood and speak truthfully to each other, for we are all members of one body. Help us not sin even in our anger, not let the sun go down while we are still angry, and not give the devil a foothold. We remember your warning that anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer but must work, doing something useful with one’s own hands so that we may have something to share with those in need.
We obey Your command that no unwholesome talk shall come out of our mouths but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. We do not want to grieve your Holy Spirit, with whom we were sealed for the day of redemption. Help us to get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice; and be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ You forgave us.
Father, we desire to follow Your will and imitate Christ, for we are dearly loved children. And walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to You.
But among us there may not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for Your holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this we are sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
We do not want to be deceived by empty words, for because of such things Your wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore, we do not want to be partners with them. For we were once darkness, but now we are light in the Lord. Help us to live as children of light, for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.
Help us find out what pleases the Lord and have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness. May You expose such deeds. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. Let everything exposed by the light become visible—and let everything that is illuminated become a light. As it is said:
“Wake up, sleeper,
Rise from the dead,
And Christ will shine on you.”
Father, teach us to be very careful about how we live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Help us not be foolish but understand what the Lord’s will is. Fill us with the Spirit, so we may speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, sing and make music from our hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks to You, our God and Father, for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Concerning husband and wife, we understand this is a profound mystery of Christ and the church. Therefore, teach each husband among us to love his wife as he loves himself and the wife to respect her husband. Teach the wives among us to submit to their own husbands as they do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior. Teach the husbands among us to love our wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
We also ask the Lord to teach the children among us to obey their parents in the Lord, for this is right. You have given us this commandment with a promise: “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—”so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
Teach the fathers among us not to exasperate their children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Help those among us who are servants to obey their earthly masters with respect and fear and with sincerity of heart, just as they would obey Christ. Not only to win their favor when their eye is on them but also as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from their hearts. Make us serve others wholeheartedly, as if serving the Lord, not people, because we know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slaves or free.
Help those among us who are masters to treat their employees and assistants in the same way, not threatening them, since we know that You who are in heaven are the Master of all, and there is no favoritism with You.
Father, please hear our final plea: Let us be strong in the Lord and His mighty power. We shall put on the full armor you have given us so that we can take our stand against the devil’s schemes. We know we struggle not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, we shall follow your instructions and put on full armor so that when the day of evil comes, we may be able to stand our ground, and after we have done everything, we can stand.
Make us stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around our waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, with our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, take up the shield of faith, with which we can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one, take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.
With this in mind, we shall stay alert and always keep on praying for all the saints and every servant of God, including those who are ambassadors in chains for the gospel, that they may declare it fearlessly, as they should.
May the Holy Spirit comfort our hearts through brotherly love, faithfulness to the Lord, and fellowship among the saints.
May peace and love be given to us with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with undying love!
Amen.