St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh

Midweek Devotion 20th October 2022

Led by Rev Sam Nwokoro

For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth. He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

(Ps. 33:4-5)

Scripture Reading Ephesians 3: 14-21

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. 16 I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. 18 I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Reflection

This biblical text contains Paul’s prayer for his audience in Ephesus. When simplified, there seems to be two main prayers in the text. The first one is about prayer for inner strength. The second is prayer to comprehend the vastness of God’s love. In the end, these two strands of prayer meet together in the sense that this inner strength comes from and is rooted in love, the all-surpassing love of God in Christ Jesus. If thoroughly simplified, this payer is that of finding inner strength in the enormous love of God.

Notice what the apostle makes of the love of God in this passage. Not only that it is such a great love, but it also is a reliable foundation. The enormity of the love of God is such that there is hardly a surer foundation for inner strength and assurance.

This vocabulary of prayer wherein deep strength is linked to the solid foundation of God’s love is not one that we are used to hearing. It appears that it is one thing to pray for the strength to get through a difficult time; it is entirely another to be continually sustained by the nourishing power of the everlasting love of God from deep within.

What would that life look like, that finds its innermost strength in the solid foundation of God’s glorious love? I do not know the answer to that question. However, the gift of silent contemplation appears to be my best bet on where to start when it comes to letting this kind of prayer sink into our own lives and heart. For indeed, we all need such a strength and how wonderful to know that we can even dare to ask for it.

Prayer

Spirit of the Living God

Guide us, this and everyday

To entrench the roots of our life and thought

in the solid and all-surpassing love of God

That deeply grounded in this love

We may know a life where strength is never in short supply

Redeeming saviour and friend

Dwell richly in our hearts through faith

That through the riches of faith, may we grow

Grow into the fullness of all that we are destined to be

Eternal God and father

May the knowledge of your love

Transform all that we are

Making us instruments of hope and restoration

In this broken world that you love

By faith with thanksgiving, we pray together,

Our Father which art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done,

in earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, the power,

and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen

Blessing

The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make his face to shine upon you
And be gracious unto you

The Lord lift up the light
Of his countenance upon you

And give you peace

Organ Music