This sermon focuses on Paul's prayers for the Ephesians, emphasizing the importance of seeking a deeper knowledge of God and His love. Paul's prayers in Ephesians 1 and 3 highlight the desire for wisdom, revelation, spiritual strength, and a profound understanding of God's love. The speaker encourages the congregation to have a hunger to know God more intimately and to be filled with the fullness of God's love and presence.

Where do we start? Well, I guess the best place to start in anything we look at is to start with prayer. And I think the best way to start in prayer is to look at what Paul actually prayed when he wrote his letter to the Ephesians. So if you take your Bibles and turn to the book of Ephesians with me, and what we're going to do tonight is simply look at Paul's prayer. Now each night I'm going to be giving you notes, but I'm going to give them at the end of the session, because I know if you're anything like me, you'll spend your time reading the notes instead of concentrating on what we're talking about. And I'd like you to maybe write your own notes, but also at the end I will be giving you notes. In the six chapters of the book of Ephesians, Paul records for us two prayers. If you like, one prayer, but it's separated by a chapter and a half. And I'd like to read those prayers for you and make them our prayers for this week. I trust they will be your prayers, and certainly my prayer for this week. In chapter 1 of the book of Ephesians, Paul starts his thinking at verse 15. He says, I do not cease to make mention of you in my prayers. And this is my prayer, verse 17. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of himself. I pray that the eyes of your hearts may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe. Is that your prayer, to know him? Paul's prayer for Ephesians, as he wrote this letter, or to the group of people that he wrote this letter to, his initial mind was that they might know God, they might have a revelation and know him. Then he continues the prayer in a real sense in chapter 3, verse 14, I bow my knees before God, and really he's continuing the same prayer. That he would grant to you, according to the riches of his glory, that you might be strengthened with power through his spirit in the inner man. So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth, the length, the height, the depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. How many of you want to be filled with God and the knowledge of God? That's why you've come here, I assume. You didn't come here for a holiday, though I trust it's going to be a good time here. You didn't come here just for fellowship, though Christian fellowship is so sweet. I trust you came because you want to know God in a deeper way. Is that right? I want to know God deeper. I've known him now since I was 16 years of age. I trusted him as my saviour when I was 16. He came from a non-Christian background. I've never been in a backslidden state. By that I mean I've never had my back turned toward God. There have been times when I've gone through dryness, but I've always wanted to know him more. I prayed that prayer, Lord, I want to know you more. I prayed in many different forms, Lord, I need to know your will. Father, I need to know your purpose in this. Lord, I have a hunger to serve you. I want to serve you more. I remember as a young person, singing a song which I would not dare sing nowadays, I want to burn out for thee, dear Lord, burn and wear out for thee. Don't let me rust, or my life be a failure, my God, to thee. I wouldn't say that now, because I see so many people in full-time service burning out. And it's not a pleasant experience to burn out. So I don't use that song. But it expresses the burden that my heart always has. I want to know God, and I want to know him more. I trust you do too. And I pray that that might be our experience this week. When we leave here at the end of the week, we can truly say that we've come to know him more, just as Paul prayed. What are the conditions for knowing God? Are there conditions? Are there preconditions? Yes, I believe there are. And I believe we have a hint of them here in Paul, right into the Ephesians. There is something about the man or woman, there's something about...