#DailyDevotion The Whole Trinity Is Operative In Our Prayers
Eph. 3:20-21 20Now to Him Who by the power working in us can do far, far more than anything we ask or imagine, 21to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all ages forever. Amen.
So the Him here is the Father in the previous verses which were a Trinitarian invocation. The power working in us is the Holy Spirit. When we heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ whether by itself or in baptism, the Holy Spirit cleaned out our hearts of all uncleanness and purified a temple for Himself and the LORD Jesus Christ and He made his dwelling in us. Jesus said in Luke 24, ““I am sending you Him Whom My Father promised. Wait here in the city until you are armed with power from above.” In Acts 1 Luke writes again, “8But when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will receive power and will testify of Me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the world.” The Holy Spirit is the power working in us through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which also is the power of God (Rom. 1:6). The Gospel and the Holy Spirit or inseparable, so inseparable that when you one you can read the other cf. Rom. 8 and Galatians.
The Holy Spirit can do far more than we can ask or imagine. This should spur us on to prayer. Jesus says concerning prayer in Luke 11, “13…how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” When we start praying with faith in Jesus’ name, the Father gives us the Spirit to help us to pray. Paul writes in Romans 8, “26In the same way the Spirit helps us in our weakness, because we don’t know how we should pray, but the Spirit Himself pleads for us with yearnings that can’t find any words. 27He Who searches our hearts knows what the Spirit means to do, that in God’s own way He’s pleading for the holy people.” We don’t know what we should pray for but the Holy Spirit, dwelling in us pleads for us with yearnings that can’t find any words. He pleads for us what we should have prayed for and the Father, hearing a prayer according do His will says, Amen, Amen, it shall be so. Our prayers are too small yet, we should start small and keep praying bigger, greater prayers by the Spirit of our God. I don’t mean pray for a bigger salary (unless you need it) or a bigger house, or anything worldly and selfish. I mean the spreading of the Gospel, the acceptance in those who hear it, for the conversion of the wicked and our enemies and our own growing and perseverance in faith.
Now the second “Him,” is that the Father or the Spirit? Since Paul is very often Trinitarian in praise and he already praised the Father in verse 20, it seems to me the praise to the Holy Spirit in the Church in conjunction “in Christ Jesus” would make the most sense. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are also very intertwined with one another so much so the Spirit has himself take a back seat to Jesus so Jesus may receive the glory. The Spirit wants to make Jesus known even as the Father wants to make Jesus known and glorify him, so in these two verse, both the Father and the Spirit hide themselves in the pronouns and let’s the name of Jesus close out the doxology. So indeed to the Father, the Spirit and Jesus—the Son be glory, power, dominion and praise, in, through and by the Church unto ages of ages.
Heavenly Father, open our lips in prayer, praise and thanksgiving, giving us the Holy Spirit that we may enlarge our prayers and to pray according to your will in the name of Jesus Christ your Son our LORD who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit. Amen.