The Tiniest of Prayers

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked 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 one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:15-23 ESV). I have often heard the wisdom of the warning about the subtlety of Satan. One of my favorite quotes comes from Howard Hendricks who said, “He never messes around with the trivial, but goes straight for the crucial: our prayer life.” Hendricks said that Satan had no qualms about Bible study, as long as we were not praying. Nor does Satan quaver when we talk to people about Jesus, as long as we are not praying. Hendricks would have agreed with the old hymnodist William Cowper as he wrote, “Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon their knees.” That’s the impact of our reading today. The apostle Paul prays for Christians to know “the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.” Notice that Paul does not pray that God would give us power, but that we might know the power that is already in us. Paul explains that this power is the very power that raised Jesus from the dead, enthroned Him at God’s right hand, and made Him head over all things “for the church”. It is power “for the church” that God made Christ head over all things. God’s power works in us as we might pray in His powerful name. I like what Kreeft writes about this power: I strongly suspect that if we saw all the difference even the tiniest of our prayers to God make, and all the people those little prayers were destined to affect, and all the consequences of those effects down through the centuries, we would be so paralyzed with awe at the power of prayer that we would be unable to get up off our knees for the rest of our lives. Do not be surprised that Satan attacks your praying. He trembles at the “immeasurable greatness” of God’s power at work in you. Pray today, even the tiniest of prayers!