Prayers For Our Inner Person
We strive to make our inward self a more important prayer focus
One of the key prayers for the people of God is found in Ephesians 3, starting in verse 14 and continuing to 19. Here the Apostle says he bowed his knees before the Father and prayed, that we be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; (v. 16)
This “inner man” (being, self, person) is what is within us, that inward part of us, referring most often to the soul or conscious self. We like to refer to it primarily as the heart for each of us as individuals. This will encompass our mind, our emotions, and our wills—or the things we think, feel, and want.
It is what is internal and therefore unseen, rather than external or seen. Thus, Paul was in prayers for our inward personal lives, our spiritual lives in relationship with our Lord—unseen by those around us, that our hearts would be strengthened by His Spirit.
His prayer, and ours, is to be made strong by the Spirit, that we would increase in strength, and to grow strong. In the natural, we equate this to exercise—we lift weights to increase muscle strength. In the spirit, we exercise as well—our faith, our praying, our service, our humility, our obedience, our giving—and flex our spiritual muscles.
In order to be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might, we pray for it, we ask Him for that which only He supplies, as did Paul. For in everything by prayer we make our requests known to God.
We can never expect to grow in the likeness of our Lord unless we follow His example and give more time to communion with the Father. A revival of real praying would produce a spiritual revolution. E. M. Bounds
Let us strive then, to make our inner man a more important prayer focus than it perhaps is now; to increase the quality of our fellowship with our Lord and be made strong in Him.
As we focus prayers for our inner man, we first want to pray for love, that we would increase (be made strong) in love for the Lord and for others. Jesus prayed that the love with which you have for me may be in them (John 17:26). In other words, Jesus asked the Father that we love Jesus as the Father loves Jesus!
Let’s pray from these verses:
That we love the Lord with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength. (This is the great and first command, and corresponds to the first four of the ten commandments.)
That we abide in His love (John 15:9)
That His love would be poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5)
That we be rooted and grounded in love (Ephesians 3:17) - That we know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that we might be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19) - That we speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) - That we walk in love (Ephesians 5:2)
That our love may abound still more and more…(Philippians 1:9)
That we follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. (1 Timothy 6:11)
And,
That we love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:39). (This is the second great command, and corresponds to the second table or the last six commands in Exodus 20.)
That our Lord make us to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all people…(1 Thessalonians 3:12)
That the Lord would direct our hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ. (2 Thessalonians 3:5)
That we consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works (Hebrews 10:24)
Father, help us realize Your unfathomable love for us, and help to love You in return, intimately aware that You loved us first, and sent Your Son, who came because He also loves You and loves us. Help us to abide in this divine love and be able to comprehend it and to remain in it. Help us to love ourselves as You love us, and then to love those around us with Your very own love. Pour out into our hearts this magnificent love, and let it rise to overflowing back to You and outflowing to others we encounter. We pray for the grace needed for this love and pray this all for Jesus’ sake, Amen.
Photo by Khadeeja Yasser on Unsplash