Ephesians 1:15-23
I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Message given at Grace Church, Molokai on Sunday 23 November 2008

Imagine that you are a Puritan and you come to a lodge. Your hosts, wishing to make you feel welcome .ask you to share a pipe of tobacco, The pipe is carved from soft, red stone, and was known to be a peace offering. As is the usual custom, your host gives you the pipe as you leave, and you are tickled pink. Such a fine gift, you take it home and prominently display it on your mantelpiece. Time passes by, and eventually members of the tribe come to your home and you suddenly notice that your guests are agitated upon seeing the pipe.

You tell them how much you appreciate the pipe and how glad you are to have it, but that only seems to make things worse. Eventually, you find out that they are bothered that you still have the pipe and that the least you could do is offer them a smoke and send the pipe back home with them. So you take the pipe down and give it back.

The Puritans would probably have been confused at the expectation that the pipe be again given as a gift, but that the tribe members are not acting selfishly here. Instead, they believe a gift for them is only a gift if it continues to be given. The gift exchanges never stop. If they did, they would lose their value and no longer be gifts.

Thinking about gift giving in this way may sound a little strange to us. In fact, we would probably be offended if we gave someone a gift and then found that very gift in someone else's home. We also would feel awkward if we received a gift that we knew had already been given. Although, I'm sure some of us are known for "regifting!"

Still I believe that Jesus must have felt that prayer is a gift that needs to keep on going. This morning we will pray. That's what we do as a church. But as we go about our daily business, we often forget to pray. Sometimes we get busy, sometimes we get distracted, and sometimes we just don't know how to pray.

There are many wonderful examples of prayer in the New Testament. But two stand out for me. The first is when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them about prayer…

He tells them not to babble like Gentiles, don't give up-be persistent, pray in faith, "And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

Jesus taught His disciples, the Lord's Prayer: the one that begins "Our Father who art heaven, hallowed be Thy Name…." Sometimes we pray it so often that we miss the depth of what Jesus taught.

For the first time, people heard that God wasn't waiting to pounce on them like a lion jumps on a deer. God wasn't a roaring predator. And get this, it gets better. Even though it seems that His hands are full creating galaxies, and wonderful rain storms and spinning electrons, this God is like our dad, only bigger, stronger, and better. But wait, there's more! This great big huge God loves us and is actually waiting for us to talk with Him. This Lord of the heavens is hanging around Ho'olehua, Manae, and Kaunakakai, and even Maunaloa listening for us when we call out to Him and return the gift He gave us in His Son.

Jesus went on to teach them how to give back to His dad, includes asking for His will to be done here on earth as it is in heaven. He taught us to ask for God to take care of our immediate needs, like food. And to ask for forgiveness, as we forgive others. Jesus reminds us to ask for help to keep us from being lured into evil places and deeds, to rescue us and protect us from the evil one. Finally we need to acknowledge that God is in control. This prayer was meant to be prayed together, with a group of other believers, but it feels so personal.

One of the challenges of the Lord's Prayer is that it can become so automatic that we pray it for everything. So what about the times we need to pray for somebody else?

Like if someone comes up and says, "Help me pray to win the lottery," how do we respond? Do we agree only if they spit it with us 60-40? It has to be at least 60-40, because obviously their prayers didn't work so we should get the bigger cut. Or do we just jump into the Lord's Prayer assuming it must cover it all?

If someone says, "I just found out that my house is going to be foreclosed. I have no job, only unemployment and I have $100K in credit card debt, and my house isn't even worth that. Please pray for me."

Then there's the time we hear, "I have a great business deal or job coming up." How do we pray then?

And then, the all too familiar, "My sister has been in a terrible accident. My mom has cancer. Please pray for them." As much as I love the Lord's Prayer, it doesn't quite fit these situations. And it kind of feels like we're putting that pipe on the mantle as something to be seen and admired. Is there another prayer in the Bible that can help us pray for others? One that really gets to the heart of passing on this gift>|?

I think it's our Ephesians reading. Even though this prayer was written for a group of people who love Jesus, I believe this prayer could help us with an outline and a format to pray in all different situations.

Now before Paul even starts to pray, he stops and gives thanks for who they are. This is important. Too often when we pray we can run ahead and want God to change people for things we don't agree with. Now how would you feel if someone prayed for you and started by saying, "Lord I can't understand why you made this piece of junk, but I guess you really love them." I would say starting a prayer like that is not a way to make friends or to influence our Father in heaven. But how would you feel if someone prayed like this "Father, You have made this person in Your image, unique and special. Thank You for their life. We humbly come before you right now because we need some help." Which prayer would you want prayed over you? Well let's hear how Paul starts. "I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers."

Then he begins to go deep into his prayer. After giving thanks for the Ephesians he continues "I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him,"

The first thing Paul wants for his friends is that they come to know Jesus more completely. For us it doesn't matter whether the person we're praying for is a seasoned Christian, or has never encountered the love of God before. Our first offering is for God to open their eyes and their hearts to know Him more. That's the gift we received, isn't it? Here's an illustration of why this is an important opening when we pray for others.

Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, used to draw two pictures of a circle with a throne in the middle of each. On one throne was a symbol that said "self," and there were lots of small dots representing our thoughts and actions, scattered all over. Outside of that circle was a picture of the cross of Christ. What the image portrayed was that a life where the Self is at the center of your universe leaves the rest of life unbalanced, and out of control. The second picture showed another circle with a throne. But right in the middle of this throne was the cross. Also in that circle were those dots, but this time they all appeared balanced and ordered around the throne. This image portrays that when we ask Jesus to be in the center of our lives, the Holy Spirit brings order and peace to all the other parts of our lives.

So part one is to give thanks for the person God made, part two is to pray that whatever they are facing or that they need will bring them closer and into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.

Next, since they've become closer to God, Paul goes to the next step "so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you,"

You know it's easy to give up hope. Sometimes the trials and the uncertainty of life can suck the hope out of us faster than a 4 year-old can slurp up a shave ice on a hot day. The examples I used about credit card debt, life changes, and unexpected illness and death just scratch the surface of deflated hope.

But one of the ways to point to hope and to hold on to hope is to recognize that God is in charge of every circumstance and that He is not asleep at the wheel. Remember the Lord's Prayer where we begin by calling God our Father? That's key to hope. Our Father is watching. He is listening. And He is active in our lives, even when we don't see Him. And He can make blessings from even the worst tragedies. It's been said that God is the great Recycler. He can take bad events and bring good. He can take broken people and make them whole. He can bring blessings from every tragedy. And He will never waste a hurt.

In 2 Corinthians 1 Paul says that God is the source of all comfort and mercy. And then he makes an astounding statement "He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us." Here is how God redeems hurts. When we are wounded He provides us mercy, and consolation. Then after we are refreshed and strengthened He uses us as His ambassadors of comfort and love. Pretty cool, yeah?

So we were talking about hope. As long as we keep our eyes on Jesus, we can have hope from the Lord of all mercy and consolation. One of the ways I've experienced this is from the death of my daughter and my mother. As I go into homes as hospice chaplain or as a friend I know the depths of pain of watching someone you love suffer. So my heart is instantly joined to the family. But because I also saw God's hand at work and know that Kanani and my mother are with Jesus, I don't have to be stuck in pain. I can offer hope for the broken hearted because God has given this broken heart His hope and His love.

So what's next after thanking God, pointing them to a deeper walk with Jesus, and offering hope?

Simple. Paul says it this way: he wants them to know about "the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints" You ain't seen nothin' yet. And when you're cooking with Jesus, the best is yet to come.

One of my favorite shows is Iron Chef America on the Food Network. Do any of you watch that? They get top chefs from around the world to compete in a one-hour cook off, but just before they compete there's a surprise: the secret ingredient! These chefs have to prepare five dishes in 60 minutes and be judged on them, and they don't even know what the heck they're going to make. Whether the secret ingredient is catfish, or chocolate or caviar, these chefs are going to make the most ono dishes in the world. One guy even made ice cream from trout. It's true! But no matter how complicated the secret ingredient is these chefs will plate beautiful and delicious dishes. No matter what surprises come, when our lives are in the hand of the Master Chef, He can create gourmet fare, even from our simple lives.

In the book of Jeremiah it says, "For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Finally Paul concludes his prayer by pointing out " the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power."

Paul is praying that their faith in God will be deepened. You see when Paul talks about the power of God that is at work in us, he teaches that it is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. It's not like God has rocket fuel power for you, and someone else only get the spark of a cap gun. No, God has made His power beyond imagination available to all of us when we trust Him.

Take a moment and digest this. If you trust God to be in the center of your throne, the power that raised Jesus will become a part of your life. So as we finish our prayer we point them to God's greatness and ask God pour His power into their life. And as we said earlier when you're cookin' with Jesus, the best is yet to come! And that's a natural place to stop when we pray.

Let's review.
1. we give thanks for the person God loves
2. we ask that God will open their hearts through these circumstances so that they may have a deeper relationship with Jesus
3. we pray that God will open their eyes to see where He is working so that they will know that they are not alone and that they can have hope in Him
4. we pray that their deeper walk with God will show them the riches that come from being a child of God
5. and we conclude by asking God to stir up His power in their lives and grow them deeper in their faith, knowing the best is yet to come.
Now I know for some of you, you were hoping that I would teach you how to pray to win the lottery. But the lottery is a game of wasted hopes and almost no chance of winning. When we pray to know Jesus more, then we are betting on a sure thing where there are three great things: faith, hope and love. One of the things that most lottery winners do not have is faith, hope and love. But when we pray for people and point them to Jesus, His faith, hope and love are the gifts that keep on giving. Happy Thanksgiving! Amen? Amen.

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