But, What Do I Do?

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-20 ESV).

 

There’s a wonderful little children’s book by Andrea Doss, Good Night, Sleep Tight, that helps parents teach their children how to pray before bedtime (cover picture attached). It is illustrated quite wonderfully and has some great insights for young children. Continuing our look into Ephesians I thought this picture would help encourage you to understand and practice the things we “can do”.

 

I’m always a little amazed at how little we know about grace. That has been shown in a very common question from people whenever I introduce the topic of grace as an answer to their crisis. The retort is always, “But, what do I need to do?” Thankfully the Apostle Paul makes it very clear that the first step in our solution is to “bow our knees before the Father” (v. 14). Let me very quickly say that he is not talking about the physical posture of prayer.

 

While it is perfectly acceptable to kneel when we pray, we know that Jesus’ example of prayer was much more than that. Picture an Olympic diver, in position and ready to dive. They are standing in the posture that directly reflects their mindset. I think Paul is telling us something similar here in Ephesians. Our mindset matters. It matters especially in our attitude of prayer. When we submit our heart and our will to God in faith, we begin to understand our position in Christ. We know we have gone from death to life and are now seated with Christ in heavenly places (cf. Ephesians 2:6). This means we can walk in a way of life that pleases God. Like a child, we train our minds to settle on an absolute trust in the goodness and grace of God. Whatever you are facing today, trust that He will bring good from it into your life. Begin to do that and you will find your solution in Him.