Focus 40: Day 38 - April 21, 2011

Praying with My Head Up

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. -Ephesians 3:17-19 NIV (2010)

I was reading through this passage the other day when it struck me how drastically Paul's prayers differ from mine. I tend to have my head down when I pray, while Paul prayed with his head up. I don't mean in the physical sense-you know, head bowed and eyes closed-I mean in the life perspective sense.

I keep my eyes and head down and pray for the mundane, everyday things of life. I pray for things like finances and health and problems with bosses and co-workers and the like. Those things are important at one level, but they are head-down-plodding-through-life kinds of things. They are the kinds of things you focus on when you get wrapped up in your own existence and your horizon is defined by your own resources and reach. In the grand scope of life, they are the little things.

When I read what Paul prayed for the Ephesians-And I pray that you, being rooted and
established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God-I realize that Paul prayed for the big things. He prayed with his head raised and his eyes looking up. He did not pray according to his limitations; he prayed according to God's vastness.

I pray, "Lord, help me pay this bill." Paul prayed, "Lord, let them catch a glimpse of you." I have my head down, looking for a check in the mailbox. Paul had his eyes raised, looking for God to show up.

Lord, help me learn how to pray with my head up, to pray for presence rather than presents.

Pastor Bruce Steffensen, Interim Pastor, Holiday Park Church of God, Portland, Oregon