praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.
Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. (Ephesians 6:18-23)
Getting the Church inside People
Ephesians 6:18-23
In Eugene Peterson’s great book on Ephesians titled Practice Resurrection: A Conversation on Growing Up in Christ, he shares the following story that illustrates the significance of prayerful fellowship:
A good friend of mine was leaving his congregation for several months on a sabbatical. He had been the organizing pastor of these people, and relationships were very close, intricately intimate after nine years together. But the nine years had also been an intense and demanding nine years. The sabbatical would renew his strength. There was an elderly woman in the congregation who prayed with him each Sunday before worship and continued her prayers for him behind the scenes through the week. She would often send prayerful notes to him. On his last Sunday, after worship, as he prepared to leave for a ten-day retreat at a Benedictine monastery that would launch his sabbatical, she gave him a note that included this: "Pastor, if you can't read this because of all the other things you need to do, that is fine. It just wasn't fine for me not to tell you that Sunday was a good day. Your sermon was really appropriate and you took the time to help everyone make the bridge between the first sermon and its follow-up. I didn't hear much of it because I was concentrating very hard on praying for you. I just wanted you to make it through the hour in a way that you could look back on and feel good about - and you did make it and I hope you feel good about it. I think everyone else does. Your candid remarks about how you were feeling were a genuine part of your endearment to everyone. We don't ever need to wonder what you were REALLY feeling - we know. "Now, my son, go with God as He loves you and speaks to you alone or with the Benedictine brothers or with your beautiful family. I am expecting more than one life-changing experience throughout the next months. I am eager to meet the new Hans. We will all be praying for you, your family, and this church. God will be with all of us, all the way. My love...."
Several months after his return, she died. Part of his remembrance of her in what he wrote in the church newsletter, remembering her to the congregation, was this excerpt from her letter, which he set in the context of Paul's "Pray also for me." Every time we ask someone, "Pray also for me," the church becomes comes stronger and more mature. We grow. (Peterson, 3100-3102).
· In what ways does this story embody the prayerful fellowship envisioned by the conclusion of Ephesians?
· Have you ever had a prayerful relationship with someone like the one illustrated here? Describe that experience.
· What is involved in living with the church inside of us in this way?
Please receive these words from Paul as a blessing over your story: “Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible” (6:23-24).
If you missed Sunday’s message, you can catch up here.