Extraordinary Prayers of God’s People

Reading through Ephesians recently, I am reminded and exhorted to pray with Paul to know God, experience His power, and understand that we are His people (1:15-19). Later in the book, Paul prays that the saints would be strengthened with the Holy Spirit, and that they would comprehend the vastness of God’s love for us in Christ (3:14-19). He finishes this section saying, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” He can and should pray about a great many things, but our prayers should be focused on Christ’s kingdom and the spread of the truth of the gospel. Edwards reminds us of the power of prayer and how God has ordained it as a means to accomplishing His purposes. The world is in need of the gospel and kingdom realities, may we continue to pray passionately for God to do abundantly beyond all that we could ask or think.

It is God’s will through His wonderful grace, that the prayers of His saints should be one of the great principal means of carrying on the designs of Christ’s kingdom in the world. When God has something very great to accomplish for His church, it is His will that there should precede it the extraordinary prayers of His people; as is manifest by Ezekiel 36:37. and it is revealed that, when God is about to accomplish great things for His church, He will begin by remarkably pouring out the spirit of grace and supplication (see Zechariah 12:10).

Jeremy Kimble (PhD, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Assistant Professor of Theological Studies at Cedarville University. He is an editor for Credo Magazine as well as the author of That His Spirit May Be Saved: Church Discipline as a Means to Repentance and Perseverance and numerous book reviews. He is married to Rachel and has two children, Hannah and Jonathan.