Three Movements of Prayer Paul Invites You Into

Uploaded: 2026-08-24T06:00:00+00:00
Description: How's your prayer life going? That's the simple question Mélanie Ehrismann opens her message with.

Introduction

How's your prayer life going? That's the simple question Mélanie Ehrismann opens her message with. A question that often makes us squirm, because it touches the most intimate part of the Christian life. Then she asks another, even more disarming one: imagine the apostle Paul praying for you today, what would he say? The good news is, you don't have to guess. Paul left two written prayers for his readers in the letter to the Ephesians, and the first one (Ephesians 1:15-23) is a clear, three-movement model: thanksgiving, intercession, proclamation. Three movements that, if you make them your own, will transform how you pray for yourself and for the people around you.

Outline

1. A prayer in three movements: thanksgiving, intercession, proclamation

In Ephesians 1:15-23, Paul doesn't just say "Lord, help them." He structures his prayer in three movements: first he thanks God, then he asks, and finally he proclaims Christ's lordship.
This structure is a teaching model. It keeps prayer from collapsing into a list of requests centered on immediate circumstances.
It places gratitude and contemplation before petition. It puts Christ at the summit, not our problems.

2. First movement: thank God for the faith and love of your brothers and sisters

Paul says: "For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which you have toward all the saints, don't cease to give thanks for you."
Paul is grateful for the spiritual health of the Ephesians. Their faith testifies that they have received the message of Jesus. Their love shows that they're putting that faith into practice.
Question to ask yourself: do you think to thank God for your brothers and sisters? Not just for who they are, but for what God is doing in their lives?
Our human reflex is to notice first what's wrong with the other person, and so to pray that God would "fix" whatever bothers us. Paul does exactly the opposite: he first discerns God's work, and gives thanks.

3. Second movement: ask the Spirit to enlighten the eyes of the heart

Paul continues: "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; having the eyes of your hearts enlightened."
Striking: Paul prays that Christians who already have faith and love would receive the spirit of wisdom. This isn't a second blessing or a catch-up, it's that the Spirit already given would powerfully manifest what is already there.
Literally in the Greek, Paul says: "that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened." In Scripture, the heart isn't just the seat of emotions. It's the inner center of the whole person, thoughts, will, feelings. So Paul is praying that his readers' entire being would be illuminated.
Three points of enlightenment are requested: the hope of the calling, the riches of the inheritance, and the power God has for believers.

4. What the Spirit wants you to see: hope, inheritance, power

Hope, Paul ties hope to your calling. God has called you to a new life, a life that looks beyond present suffering toward the glory to come. In a world weighed down by hard news, you need a fresh revelation of that hope.
Inheritance, Your new identity in Christ makes you a member of God's people, and therefore an heir. You are precious in his eyes. This inheritance is directly tied to the hope you're called to.
Power, Paul insists: "the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe." God's power isn't a distant abstraction, it's for you, at work on your behalf.
You never fully grasp these spiritual riches on your own. That's normal, they're heavenly treasures you can't produce by your own effort. You need the Spirit to open the eyes of your heart, a heart that seeks humbly and dares to ask with the boldness of faith.

5. Third movement: proclaim the victory of Christ

When Paul speaks of God's power, he can't help but explain it. He gives three historical proofs of that power: the resurrection, the ascension, and the church.
The resurrection, God raised Jesus, but not the way he raised Lazarus (who died a second time). Jesus is the only being in the universe whose resurrection is death's definitive defeat. And Paul says this very power is available to you.
The ascension, Not only was Jesus raised, but God seated him in the highest place, at his right hand. He is above every ruler, authority, power, dominion, and every name that can be named. In Ephesus, people feared spiritual powers that could be invoked by name. Paul reminds them that Christ reigns above even those.
The church, The last manifestation of God's power is you and your fellow believers. That may be surprising after the resurrection and Christ's cosmic reign. But God gave Christ the church as his body, with Christ as its head. As John Stott points out, the church is the theater where Christ's reign is displayed.

6. This week's challenge: choose one person, pray for them like Paul did

Mélanie Ehrismann issues a concrete challenge: this week, choose just one person from your church and pray for them regularly, Paul's way.
Thank God for what he's already doing in their life. Ask him in faith to open their eyes, to let them see the hope, to help them grasp the scope of the inheritance reserved for them, to let them experience God's power.
Then proclaim Christ's reign over their life, so that they would increasingly display the fullness of Christ.
When a church prays this way ("your kingdom come"), things happen. The Holy Spirit loves those prayers. He's waiting for nothing more than to bring God's kingdom.

Key takeaways

Praying like Paul means three linked movements: thanking, asking, proclaiming. None of the three should be missing.
Gratitude always comes first. Before asking God to change others, discern what he's already doing in their lives and give thanks.
Paul's central request isn't a change of circumstances, it's an enlightening of the heart, to see the hope, inheritance, and power that are already yours in Christ.
The power at work for you is the same power that raised Christ and seated him above every authority. No power raised against you stands at his height.
The church, of which you're a member, is the theater where Christ's reign is displayed. Your prayer is an act of worship that takes its place in that story.

Personal application

When you pray for a brother or sister, where do you start: with what bothers you about them, or with what God is already doing in their life? What could you change starting this week?
Of Paul's three prayer points (hope, inheritance, power), which do you feel you're missing most right now? Dare to ask the Spirit to enlighten you specifically on that one.
Who from your church will you choose for this week's challenge? Write down their name and pray for them every day using Paul's three movements.
Do your prayers stop at asking for your circumstances to change, or do they also include proclaiming Christ's reign? Take a moment today to say out loud: "Your kingdom come."
Is there a "power" or "force" you fear, in your work, your health, your family, the news? Remember that Christ is above every name that is named, and proclaim that in your prayer.

Scriptures cited

Frequently asked questions

What does it mean to pray like the apostle Paul in Ephesians 1:15-23?

Praying like Paul means weaving three movements into a single prayer. First, thanksgiving: thank God for what he has already done in the lives of your brothers and sisters, before asking for anything at all. Then intercession: ask the Spirit to enlighten the eyes of the heart, so you can deeply grasp the hope of your calling, the riches of your inheritance, and the power of God at work for you. Finally, proclamation: declare the lordship of the risen Christ, seated above every authority, power, and name that is named. These are the three movements Paul lays out before the Ephesians, and Mélanie Ehrismann offers them to you as a model for your own prayer life.

What does the phrase "the eyes of your heart enlightened" mean?

In Paul's Greek, the heart isn't just the seat of emotions the way modern thinking often frames it, setting head against heart, reason against feeling. In Scripture, the heart is the inner center of the whole person, the place where your thoughts, your will, and your emotions meet. Praying for the eyes of your heart to be enlightened means asking God that your entire being be illuminated by the Spirit, so you can understand from the inside what you've already received in Christ. It's moving from intellectual knowledge to a personal, lived, experiential knowledge of who Jesus is and what he has given you.

How do you concretely pray for a brother or sister this week?

Here's the challenge Mélanie Ehrismann offers you. Choose just one person from your church. Each day, pray for them using Paul's three movements. Start by thanking God for what he's already doing in their life, their faith, their love, the fruit you see. Then ask in faith that the Spirit would open the eyes of their heart, so they would see the hope of their calling, the riches of their inheritance, and the power of God at work for them. Finally, proclaim Christ's reign over their life and their week. This simple challenge moves you beyond prayers focused only on circumstances, and teaches you to intercede for the spiritual growth of the people close to you.

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