Ephesians 3:14

“For this cause. bow my knees unto the Father”.

“For this cause”: “With this in mind” (Knox). (Ephesians 1:15; Ephesians 3:1). Here Paul is “resuming his train of thought where he had left it in verse What ‘reason' is in his mind? What is it that moves him to pray? Surely it is both the reconciling work of Christ and his own understanding of it by special revelation? These are the convictions that undergird his prayer. This being so, an important principle of prayer emerges. The basis of Paul's prayer was his knowledge of God's purpose...the indispensable prelude to all petition is the revelation of God's will. We have no authority to pray for anything that God has not revealed to be His will. That is why Bible reading and prayer should always go together” (Stott p. 132). Compare with John 15:7 and 1 John 5:14)

“The people of Christ, he has said already, have access through Him ‘in one Spirit to the Father' (Ephesians 2:18); and Paul avails himself of this access to make intercession for his friends” (Bruce p. 324). One is not done when they become. Christian. Actually the real work has just begun. “There is no need for. Gentile (Christian) to lead an impoverished life” (Spiritual Sword Lectureship p. 71). Since these Christians are "in Christ", it is only logical that Paul would desire that they take advantage and acquire every spiritual blessing. This section of Scripture reveals something about the Christian who remains miserable, apathetic and with just enough Christianity to make them unhappy. They have failed to take advantage of the rich blessings that are found in Christ. They need to seriously work on obtaining the riches found in Ephesians 3:16-19. God not only wants people to become Christians, he wants Christians to thrive in this new relationship. Without. doubt God really wants us saved. He is saying here, “Take advantage of every blessing available, make the most of it,. want you to fully use, enjoy and experience all these wonderful things” (2 Peter 1:5).

“I bow my knees”: Most commentators note that the usual posture for praying throughout the Old Testament was to stand with one's hands lifted toward heaven. Yet, even in the Old Testament we find various individuals kneeling in prayer (1 Kings 2:54; Daniel 6:10). In the Bible we really do not find one consistent posture for praying. We find people standing (Mark 11:25), bowing the head (Genesis 24:26), and even falling on the face (Luke 17:16). The tense here is present tense indicating that now and again Paul prays for the Ephesians. “An empathic way of denoting prayer; but not incidental, occasional prayer, inspired by some passing feeling; the attitude ‘bow my knees' denotes deliberate prayer, making. business of it, approaching God with reverence and holy fear. with all the solemnities suitable to the occasion of making. specific and important request” (P.P. Comm. p. 107). We need to remember that no one specific posture in prayer is commanded. Keep this in mind when various groups try to argue that raising one's hands while praying is. more "spiritual posture", than all others (1 Timothy 2:8), and consider the example of Jesus in the garden (Matthew 26:39).

“Unto the Father”: Christians have confidence to approach God as their Father (Ephesians 2:18; Ephesians 3:12). Jesus taught the same thing (Matthew 6:9; Matthew 7:11; Luke 11:18; Mark 14:36). We are never told to pray to some departed Christian, such as Mary or one of the apostles. Christianity is the religion of free and direct access to the Father. Caldwell reminds us: “He is not simply our Father because He created us. He is also concerned about us. As among men, there is. difference between paternity and fatherhood. We recognize that God is not simply. progenitor but is also our dearest benefactor (Matthew 7:11 f)” (p. 131). Occasionally the question of "praying to Jesus" arises.. think Caldwell said it well, when he said, “The Lord taught His apostles to petition the Father (Matthew 6:9) in the name of Christ (John 14:13; John 15:16; John 15:23; John 15:26). They, in turn, taught us to pray and render our acts of worship and sacrifice to the Father through Christ (Colossians 3:17; Hebrews 13:15; 1 Timothy 2:5; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 Peter 2:5). In keeping with God's eternal plan, Christ voluntarily subordinated Himself to the Father for the purpose of human redemption (1 Peter 2:5). Therefore, it is fitting that prayers are offered to God the Father through God the Son. That is the gospel plan and is in keeping with Christ's own purpose of glorifying the Father (cf. John 17:1)” (p. 131). John Stott in his book Christian Counter-Culture said, “The first three petitions in the Lord's Prayer express our concern for God's glory in relation to His name, rule and will. If our concept of God were of some impersonal force, then of course He would have no personal name, rule or will to be concerned about. Again, if we were to think of Him as ‘the Ultimate within ourselves' or ‘the ground of our being', it would be impossible to distinguish between His concerns and ours” (p. 146).