The following message is by Pastor John Piper. More information from desiring God is available at

W. W.W.

D. D. D.O. G. We're going to look at Ephesians 5 in just a few minutes,

but I was thinking this morning how I should begin and what I should pray, because I always like to pray before I do anything because we're

told to walk by the spirit be led by spirit, and surely one of the ways to walk by the

spirit as you teach is to ask God the Holy Spirit to come and help you.

So that's why I always pray before I preach or teach.

But as I was thinking, okay, we're going to look at Ephesians 5,

Ephesians is a 6 chapter book and the first three plus are really foundational and

glorious which if you don't have chapter 5 about male and female in marriage will probably

well be interesting but it won't hit home like it will if the first three chapters of Genesis, I mean Ephesians,

the first three chapters of Ephesians have become yours.

And interestingly, there are two prayers in those three chapters, one in

chapter one and one in chapter three, and they are among my favorite New Testament prayers largely because they embody in the way they

pray so much truth about God and so much truth about the way he relates to us. So I thought, well, there's probably

a correlation then between whether we as a people are open to chapter 5 and what it teaches and whether we pray like

this and that prayer is answered so let's do that. Let's pray.

Father, I bow my knees before you the father from whom the whole family in heaven and on earth is named.

Asking that according to the riches of your glory,

you might grant us here to be strengthened in the inner

man by your power and that Christ might dwell, might inhabit, might manifestly make his home now, consciously

in our hearts that we being rooted and grounded in love, his love,

...