November 18, 2025 • 20 mins
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Have you ever wondered if God could really do the impossible in your life? Paul's prayer to the Ephesians offers a breathtaking promise that continues to transform lives two thousand years later.
Tucked away in Ephesians 3:16-21, this powerful prayer was written from a prison cell to a church Paul deeply loved. As we explore this ancient text, we uncover truths that feel surprisingly relevant to our modern struggles. The prayer reveals several profound insights we desperately need today.
What parts of your heart do you need Jesus to transform today? Where do you need to pray boldly and expect God to exceed your expectations? Join us as we discover how this ancient prayer can revolutionize your faith journey.
Text a friend to share this episode, and remember—there's always something to be grateful for!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Desireé Melfi Bozzo (00:06):
Ciao and welcome to Life Out Loud.
I am your host, desireeMelfi-Bozzo.
We are going to use this spaceto share experiences and help
you find lasting, unshakable,unwavering, unmessable.
With joy and gratitude.
We're going to be throwingaround encouragement a little
bit like confetti, and givingyou support to live your very
(00:28):
best life.
Ciao, friends.
Welcome to episode six ofseason four of the Life Out Loud
podcast.
I'm the creator of this podcastand your host, desiree
Melfi-Bozzo.
I'm so glad you're here.
If you've been hanging aroundthis season, you know that we're
focusing on prayers andscripture that have shaped the
(00:50):
world.
In this episode we are going totalk about the prayer of
immeasurably more.
It's a prayer that was writtenby Paul to the church in Ephesus
.
This was about 60 to 65 yearsafter Jesus had died.
If you hung around here andlistened to the podcast episode
(01:12):
on Ephesians 6, you know some ofthis information about Paul,
about the book of Ephesians.
But Paul wrote this letter tothe Ephesians when he was in
prison and the prayer that Iwant to share to you today was
in that letter.
Paul knew the Ephesians reallywell.
He had spent several years withthis church and his influence
(01:34):
in Ephesus and with the peopleof Ephesus was really profound.
The Bible handbook commentarystates the influence that act of
(01:57):
faith from the Ephesian peopleshows us the transforming power
of the gospel.
At the heart of Paul's letterwas encouragement.
Right, the transformation ofhearts had happened.
It had occurred, but the peoplestill needed to be strengthened
and edified.
Right, they'd heard the message, they believed it, but they
(02:19):
were also living in their dailylives right.
Much like us, paul knew that ifevery part of their lives was
steeped in the gospel, that thetruth would permeate their
hearts and minds.
The truth would guide theirsteps, and the truth would
travel through families andthrough generations.
This was so true for the churchin Ephesus and, my loves, it is
(02:43):
so true for the church today.
This prayer that Paul pennedfrom prison so long ago is still
incredibly relevant to ourlives, and I think it's one
that's worthy of our time and ofour attention.
So we're going to flip tochapter three of Ephesians.
(03:05):
It's nestled right in there.
It's titled appropriately APrayer for the Ephesians, and we
can find it specifically inEphesians 3, 16 to 21.
It reads I pray that, out ofhis glorious riches, he may
strengthen you with powerthrough his spirit in your inner
(03:26):
being, so that Christ may dwellin your hearts through faith,
and I pray that you, beingrooted and established in love,
may have power, together withall the Lord's holy people, to
grasp how wide and long and highand deep is the love of Christ
(03:46):
and to know this love thatsurpasses knowledge, that you
may be filled to the measure ofall the fullness of God.
Verse 20,.
Now, to him who is able to doimmeasurably more than all we
ask or imagine, according to hispower at work within us, to him
(04:06):
be the glory in the church andin Christ Jesus, throughout all
generations, forever and ever.
Amen.
I love the message translationof this prayer and before I
share that, it's important toexplain that the message
translation is actually theBible paraphrased.
It's not at all meant to be anin-depth study and accuracy
(04:31):
right.
Its audience is contemporaryreaders and it uses really
modern language and it usesidioms to create a dynamic
version of scripture.
So, that being said, it paintsthe coolest picture of the heart
of Paul's message.
So the message translationreads I ask him to strengthen
(04:53):
you by his spirit, not a brutestrength but a glorious inner
strength that Christ will livein you as you open the door and
invite him in.
And I ask him that, with bothfeet firmly planted on love,
you'll be able to take in, withall the followers of Jesus, the
(05:15):
extravagant dimensions ofChrist's love.
Reach out and experience thebreadth, test its length, plumb
the depths, rise to the heights,live full lives, full in the
fullness of God.
Verse 20 and 21 read God can doanything.
(05:36):
You know far more than youcould ever imagine or guess or
request in your wildest dreams.
He does it not by pushing usaround, but by working within us
, his spirit, deeply and gentlywithin us.
Glory to God in the church.
Glory to God and the Messiah inJesus.
Glory down all generations.
(05:57):
Glory through all millennia, ohyes.
So as I read this, I can't helpbut feel joy and encouragement
literally bubbling up in my soul, and I hope the same happened
for you when you heard this.
When I read Paul's prayer to thechurch, I think about him in
(06:23):
prison and see, paul had a verydifferent vantage point than the
young church in Ephesus.
Paul knew a few things thatthey may not have, and I want to
share those with you today.
The first thing Paul knew wasthat God's plan for all people
was to unite them into onefamily.
(06:43):
It's a far cry from thedivision that today's social
media algorithms like to make usbelieve.
Right, god's plan for the earlychurch is the same as his plan
for the church today Unity amongbelievers.
We are brothers and sisters inthis world.
(07:06):
We're more alike than we aredifferent, and Paul needs the
people of Ephesus to know thisback then, and I truly believe
heaven needs us to know thistoday.
Satan doesn't want unity, hewants division, because he knows
that if he can divide us, hecan make us fall right House.
(07:27):
Divided can't stand, and sothis unity among believers is a
really important foundation tohave, and I think Paul knew that
right.
The second thing I think Paulknew is that strength didn't
come from accomplishments and itsurely didn't come from status.
Strength comes from the HolySpirit inside our hearts.
(07:51):
Furthermore, jesus doesn't wantto just be invited into our
hearts.
He doesn't want to just passthrough.
He wants to take up residenceand clean out every room in the
home of our hearts.
He wants to bust open lockedand barricaded hearts.
(08:15):
Open the windows, dust out thecobwebs.
My friends, that can be superscary at first.
Right, I know because I'velived it.
It was a long, long time ago,but I remember inviting Jesus
into my heart and I rememberwhen he did the work of cleaning
up the place.
That happened and had to happen.
(08:37):
When Jesus begins the work ofclearing out our hearts, we must
come face to face with our ugly, sinful words, thoughts and
actions.
Sinful words, thoughts andactions.
But if we're brave enough tolet this change take place in
(08:58):
our lives, we get to access thefruits of the Spirit love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness,goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control.
Side note, if you want to do adeep dive into this, go back to
season three of my podcast,where I break down all of these
in bite-sized, applicable form.
Jesus wants to come in andtransform our hearts, and just
when we think we've beentransformed and we've reached
(09:21):
the level and this is who Godwanted me to be there's another
layer of that onion that's gotto get peeled back in our lives.
It's got to get peeled back inour lives.
God will keep transforming ustill he comes back or we die.
Whichever happens first, he'sgoing to keep transforming our
hearts.
We need to do the heart workand the hard work of letting him
(09:45):
do it.
Full disclosure, completetransparency in this safe space.
My prayer recently has beenaround transforming my mind and
my heart.
I want an even deepertransformation and it's as
simple as pausing and sayingJesus transform my thoughts.
Jesus transform my heart.
(10:07):
Jesus, take this way ofthinking and change it
completely from the inside out.
Prayer changes things right.
So we've talked about unityamong believers.
We've talked about our hearts,these clean hearts.
And there's a few more thingsthat I think Paul knew, that I
(10:28):
want to share with you.
Paul knew that I want to sharewith you.
Paul knew the church in Ephesusdidn't entirely grasp how loved
they were and I can't help butpause and think.
How many of us walk aroundknowing of course Jesus loves me
, but like, do we really get howmuch?
(10:48):
When he talks about how wideand deep and high and long the
love of Christ is, it'smind-boggling.
I wonder if sometimes we're alittle bit like that early
church, not entirely graspingthe total, expansive love of God
(11:09):
.
He loves the world forever, tothe point of a horrific death on
the cross, all the way toheaven.
He loved this way back then andhe loves this way today.
He loves this way on our bestdays, on our worst days and on
(11:31):
the mundane somewhere in betweendays.
God is totally and ridiculouslysmitten over you and I think
it's important to dwell on that,to ponder that, to spend some
quiet, reflective time on that.
(11:53):
There's moments and days when wefeel lonely or when we feel
disappointed or when we'refeeling down, and especially in
those moments, that's when theadversary wants to come in and
sneak in and whisper things inour hearts and in our minds
right and whisper things in ourhearts and in our minds right.
But in those moments is when westop and we can say, jesus,
(12:15):
transform my heart, open my eyesto the ways that you love me.
It's why gratitude journalsthat I talk about, probably to
the point of nausea, right arelike, so important.
Keep a gratitude journal andthe things you're thankful for.
(12:36):
It's not just some Pollyannaact, it's something that
actually literally changes yourbrain chemistry and it changes
the game.
Grasping the love of Christ,keeping it present in front of
you, is one of the mostimportant things that you can do
, especially on the worst daysand the valley moments.
(12:56):
The next thing I think Paul knewthat we need to make sure we
know is the true power of God,just like the church in Ephesus,
in our humanity today.
We can't help but see thecircumstances in front of us.
It looks like many differentthings to many different people.
(13:18):
It's the medical diagnosis,it's the family trials, it's the
finances, it's the anxiousthoughts, it's the struggling
marriage, it's the you know nextthing and the next thing and
the next thing.
If I go long enough, I'meventually going to hit yours.
They're the tangible, fierydarts that are thrown our way on
(13:39):
a daily basis to try and throwus off course and distract us
from God's purpose in our life,and the power of God isn't bound
by any of it.
God can and will do immeasurablymore than anything we can
(14:01):
imagine.
Sometimes it requires usopening our so tightly grasped
fists that we have on life andthe plan.
Trust me, I'm a type A.
I am like all over this oneright.
Sometimes it's just telling Godthe desires, telling God what
(14:21):
you want to achieve, and thensee where he works, see where he
opens the door and gives theyes, god can do immeasurably
more, as long as it's in linewith his will for your life.
Our job is to do the digging andfigure out what that is.
Our other job is to actuallybelieve, stand in steadfast,
(14:47):
unwavering belief that God cando anything we can imagine.
The same God that raisedLazarus from the dead is the
same God that lives today.
He's the exact same one.
His power hasn't changed.
We have to believe it.
God can and will doimmeasurably more than anything
(15:11):
we can imagine.
And the last thing I have tobelieve that Paul knew was that
God didn't live in a building Tothe church in Ephesus.
The massive temple is whatsymbolized glory, glory.
The truth back then that stillstands true today, is actually
(15:33):
that imperfect, everyday,ordinary believing in Jesus,
people are God's church.
We are where he shows off hisglory.
It's not in a building.
It's why it's said that ourbodies are at the temple for the
Holy Spirit.
Friends, I think it's importantto ask ourselves the question
(15:56):
where in our lives are we makingsomething outside of us to be
the glory of God?
It's a difficult one to askbecause I think it really forces
us to get our thoughts and ourmotives and our priorities in
check Right.
When I ask myself that question, I usually find one or few
(16:16):
things where that is showing upin my life.
What about you?
It is important for us toremember that we are the
dwelling place of God on earth.
I heard it said one time thatthe Jesus in your heart might be
the only Jesus that someoneencounters.
(16:37):
I don't know about you, butthere's a heavy burden on my
heart in that, because I'm humanand I mess things up all the
time.
There are conversations andthere are situations that I
haven't handled correctly.
There are parts of life that Iwish I could get a do-over on,
(16:59):
but I also know how big God isand that his love and grace
covers all the places we come upshort.
Come up short, so show kindnessand trust Jesus to work through
you and me, and pray that evenin our weakness and our
(17:20):
shortcomings, people still seeJesus and just like the church
in Ephesus.
It's important for us toremember that we are filled with
the Holy Spirit and Christ'slove.
It's important for us toremember that we are filled with
the Holy Spirit and Christ'slove.
We can pray big, bold prayersand expect God to do more than
we can ever imagine.
We can borrow the courage ofPaul and the early Ephesian
(17:48):
church.
Friends, think about where youneed strength in your life right
now.
Where can you pray boldly aboutyour life right now?
What parts of your heart need tobe open and swept out by Jesus
so the big, beautiful fruits ofthe Spirit can take root and
grow?
My loves, I want to end thisepisode praying over you, a
(18:10):
prayer that's inspired byEphesians 3, 16 to 21.
Our good, good Father,strengthen my sweet listeners
with the Holy Spirit so Jesushas space to live in their
hearts.
Space to live in their hearts,god, root them in your love.
(18:38):
Help them to grasp the widthand length and depth and height
of your never-ending, redeeminglove.
God, fill them with yourfullness.
Jesus, do immeasurably morethan all they can ask or imagine
in their lives, according toyour power at work within them.
God, I pray to you.
(18:58):
Be the glory in us and inChrist Jesus through all
generations forward and back,forever and ever.
Amen.
Friends, I hope you enjoyed thisepisode.
I know for me if I can behonest here it was an incredibly
healing one to write and toproduce.
(19:19):
I dug into some things thatbrought some tears to my little
mama heart, so I hope this had aprofound impact on you too.
Come back next time.
We're going to throw moreencouragement and more scripture
around like confetti.
Be careful If you get too close, you're totally going to get
(19:42):
some on you and remember, perusual, there's always something
to be grateful for.
Ciao.
Thank you for joining me,desiree Melfi-Bozzo, for this
episode of Life Out Loud.
I would love to hear from you,leave me a comment, tell me what
topics you want to talk aboutand how you take your coffee.
(20:05):
If you enjoyed what you heard,text a friend the link, share it
on social media.
Or if you're interested inbecoming a supporter, beep up
over to my webpage,lifeoutloudme, and sponsor a cup
of coffee that keeps thispodcast fueled Until next time,
sweet listeners.
Ciao and welcome to Life Out Loud.
I am your host, desireeMelfi-Bozzo.
We are going to use this spaceto share experiences and help
you find lasting, unshakable,unwavering, unmessable.
With joy and gratitude.
We're going to be throwingaround encouragement a little
bit like confetti, and givingyou support to live your very
(00:28):
best life.
Ciao, friends.
Welcome to episode six ofseason four of the Life Out Loud
podcast.
I'm the creator of this podcastand your host, desiree
Melfi-Bozzo.
I'm so glad you're here.
If you've been hanging aroundthis season, you know that we're
focusing on prayers andscripture that have shaped the
(00:50):
world.
In this episode we are going totalk about the prayer of
immeasurably more.
It's a prayer that was writtenby Paul to the church in Ephesus
.
This was about 60 to 65 yearsafter Jesus had died.
If you hung around here andlistened to the podcast episode
(01:12):
on Ephesians 6, you know some ofthis information about Paul,
about the book of Ephesians.
But Paul wrote this letter tothe Ephesians when he was in
prison and the prayer that Iwant to share to you today was
in that letter.
Paul knew the Ephesians reallywell.
He had spent several years withthis church and his influence
(01:34):
in Ephesus and with the peopleof Ephesus was really profound.
The Bible handbook commentarystates the influence that act of
(01:57):
faith from the Ephesian peopleshows us the transforming power
of the gospel.
At the heart of Paul's letterwas encouragement.
Right, the transformation ofhearts had happened.
It had occurred, but the peoplestill needed to be strengthened
and edified.
Right, they'd heard the message, they believed it, but they
(02:19):
were also living in their dailylives right.
Much like us, paul knew that ifevery part of their lives was
steeped in the gospel, that thetruth would permeate their
hearts and minds.
The truth would guide theirsteps, and the truth would
travel through families andthrough generations.
This was so true for the churchin Ephesus and, my loves, it is
(02:43):
so true for the church today.
This prayer that Paul pennedfrom prison so long ago is still
incredibly relevant to ourlives, and I think it's one
that's worthy of our time and ofour attention.
So we're going to flip tochapter three of Ephesians.
(03:05):
It's nestled right in there.
It's titled appropriately APrayer for the Ephesians, and we
can find it specifically inEphesians 3, 16 to 21.
It reads I pray that, out ofhis glorious riches, he may
strengthen you with powerthrough his spirit in your inner
(03:26):
being, so that Christ may dwellin your hearts through faith,
and I pray that you, beingrooted and established in love,
may have power, together withall the Lord's holy people, to
grasp how wide and long and highand deep is the love of Christ
(03:46):
and to know this love thatsurpasses knowledge, that you
may be filled to the measure ofall the fullness of God.
Verse 20,.
Now, to him who is able to doimmeasurably more than all we
ask or imagine, according to hispower at work within us, to him
(04:06):
be the glory in the church andin Christ Jesus, throughout all
generations, forever and ever.
Amen.
I love the message translationof this prayer and before I
share that, it's important toexplain that the message
translation is actually theBible paraphrased.
It's not at all meant to be anin-depth study and accuracy
(04:31):
right.
Its audience is contemporaryreaders and it uses really
modern language and it usesidioms to create a dynamic
version of scripture.
So, that being said, it paintsthe coolest picture of the heart
of Paul's message.
So the message translationreads I ask him to strengthen
(04:53):
you by his spirit, not a brutestrength but a glorious inner
strength that Christ will livein you as you open the door and
invite him in.
And I ask him that, with bothfeet firmly planted on love,
you'll be able to take in, withall the followers of Jesus, the
(05:15):
extravagant dimensions ofChrist's love.
Reach out and experience thebreadth, test its length, plumb
the depths, rise to the heights,live full lives, full in the
fullness of God.
Verse 20 and 21 read God can doanything.
(05:36):
You know far more than youcould ever imagine or guess or
request in your wildest dreams.
He does it not by pushing usaround, but by working within us
, his spirit, deeply and gentlywithin us.
Glory to God in the church.
Glory to God and the Messiah inJesus.
Glory down all generations.
(05:57):
Glory through all millennia, ohyes.
So as I read this, I can't helpbut feel joy and encouragement
literally bubbling up in my soul, and I hope the same happened
for you when you heard this.
When I read Paul's prayer to thechurch, I think about him in
(06:23):
prison and see, paul had a verydifferent vantage point than the
young church in Ephesus.
Paul knew a few things thatthey may not have, and I want to
share those with you today.
The first thing Paul knew wasthat God's plan for all people
was to unite them into onefamily.
(06:43):
It's a far cry from thedivision that today's social
media algorithms like to make usbelieve.
Right, god's plan for the earlychurch is the same as his plan
for the church today Unity amongbelievers.
We are brothers and sisters inthis world.
(07:06):
We're more alike than we aredifferent, and Paul needs the
people of Ephesus to know thisback then, and I truly believe
heaven needs us to know thistoday.
Satan doesn't want unity, hewants division, because he knows
that if he can divide us, hecan make us fall right House.
(07:27):
Divided can't stand, and sothis unity among believers is a
really important foundation tohave, and I think Paul knew that
right.
The second thing I think Paulknew is that strength didn't
come from accomplishments and itsurely didn't come from status.
Strength comes from the HolySpirit inside our hearts.
(07:51):
Furthermore, jesus doesn't wantto just be invited into our
hearts.
He doesn't want to just passthrough.
He wants to take up residenceand clean out every room in the
home of our hearts.
He wants to bust open lockedand barricaded hearts.
(08:15):
Open the windows, dust out thecobwebs.
My friends, that can be superscary at first.
Right, I know because I'velived it.
It was a long, long time ago,but I remember inviting Jesus
into my heart and I rememberwhen he did the work of cleaning
up the place.
That happened and had to happen.
(08:37):
When Jesus begins the work ofclearing out our hearts, we must
come face to face with our ugly, sinful words, thoughts and
actions.
Sinful words, thoughts andactions.
But if we're brave enough tolet this change take place in
(08:58):
our lives, we get to access thefruits of the Spirit love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness,goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control.
Side note, if you want to do adeep dive into this, go back to
season three of my podcast,where I break down all of these
in bite-sized, applicable form.
Jesus wants to come in andtransform our hearts, and just
when we think we've beentransformed and we've reached
(09:21):
the level and this is who Godwanted me to be there's another
layer of that onion that's gotto get peeled back in our lives.
It's got to get peeled back inour lives.
God will keep transforming ustill he comes back or we die.
Whichever happens first, he'sgoing to keep transforming our
hearts.
We need to do the heart workand the hard work of letting him
(09:45):
do it.
Full disclosure, completetransparency in this safe space.
My prayer recently has beenaround transforming my mind and
my heart.
I want an even deepertransformation and it's as
simple as pausing and sayingJesus transform my thoughts.
Jesus transform my heart.
(10:07):
Jesus, take this way ofthinking and change it
completely from the inside out.
Prayer changes things right.
So we've talked about unityamong believers.
We've talked about our hearts,these clean hearts.
And there's a few more thingsthat I think Paul knew, that I
(10:28):
want to share with you.
Paul knew that I want to sharewith you.
Paul knew the church in Ephesusdidn't entirely grasp how loved
they were and I can't help butpause and think.
How many of us walk aroundknowing of course Jesus loves me
, but like, do we really get howmuch?
(10:48):
When he talks about how wideand deep and high and long the
love of Christ is, it'smind-boggling.
I wonder if sometimes we're alittle bit like that early
church, not entirely graspingthe total, expansive love of God
(11:09):
.
He loves the world forever, tothe point of a horrific death on
the cross, all the way toheaven.
He loved this way back then andhe loves this way today.
He loves this way on our bestdays, on our worst days and on
(11:31):
the mundane somewhere in betweendays.
God is totally and ridiculouslysmitten over you and I think
it's important to dwell on that,to ponder that, to spend some
quiet, reflective time on that.
(11:53):
There's moments and days when wefeel lonely or when we feel
disappointed or when we'refeeling down, and especially in
those moments, that's when theadversary wants to come in and
sneak in and whisper things inour hearts and in our minds
right and whisper things in ourhearts and in our minds right.
But in those moments is when westop and we can say, jesus,
(12:15):
transform my heart, open my eyesto the ways that you love me.
It's why gratitude journalsthat I talk about, probably to
the point of nausea, right arelike, so important.
Keep a gratitude journal andthe things you're thankful for.
(12:36):
It's not just some Pollyannaact, it's something that
actually literally changes yourbrain chemistry and it changes
the game.
Grasping the love of Christ,keeping it present in front of
you, is one of the mostimportant things that you can do
, especially on the worst daysand the valley moments.
(12:56):
The next thing I think Paul knewthat we need to make sure we
know is the true power of God,just like the church in Ephesus,
in our humanity today.
We can't help but see thecircumstances in front of us.
It looks like many differentthings to many different people.
(13:18):
It's the medical diagnosis,it's the family trials, it's the
finances, it's the anxiousthoughts, it's the struggling
marriage, it's the you know nextthing and the next thing and
the next thing.
If I go long enough, I'meventually going to hit yours.
They're the tangible, fierydarts that are thrown our way on
(13:39):
a daily basis to try and throwus off course and distract us
from God's purpose in our life,and the power of God isn't bound
by any of it.
God can and will do immeasurablymore than anything we can
(14:01):
imagine.
Sometimes it requires usopening our so tightly grasped
fists that we have on life andthe plan.
Trust me, I'm a type A.
I am like all over this oneright.
Sometimes it's just telling Godthe desires, telling God what
(14:21):
you want to achieve, and thensee where he works, see where he
opens the door and gives theyes, god can do immeasurably
more, as long as it's in linewith his will for your life.
Our job is to do the digging andfigure out what that is.
Our other job is to actuallybelieve, stand in steadfast,
(14:47):
unwavering belief that God cando anything we can imagine.
The same God that raisedLazarus from the dead is the
same God that lives today.
He's the exact same one.
His power hasn't changed.
We have to believe it.
God can and will doimmeasurably more than anything
(15:11):
we can imagine.
And the last thing I have tobelieve that Paul knew was that
God didn't live in a building Tothe church in Ephesus.
The massive temple is whatsymbolized glory, glory.
The truth back then that stillstands true today, is actually
(15:33):
that imperfect, everyday,ordinary believing in Jesus,
people are God's church.
We are where he shows off hisglory.
It's not in a building.
It's why it's said that ourbodies are at the temple for the
Holy Spirit.
Friends, I think it's importantto ask ourselves the question
(15:56):
where in our lives are we makingsomething outside of us to be
the glory of God?
It's a difficult one to askbecause I think it really forces
us to get our thoughts and ourmotives and our priorities in
check Right.
When I ask myself that question, I usually find one or few
(16:16):
things where that is showing upin my life.
What about you?
It is important for us toremember that we are the
dwelling place of God on earth.
I heard it said one time thatthe Jesus in your heart might be
the only Jesus that someoneencounters.
(16:37):
I don't know about you, butthere's a heavy burden on my
heart in that, because I'm humanand I mess things up all the
time.
There are conversations andthere are situations that I
haven't handled correctly.
There are parts of life that Iwish I could get a do-over on,
(16:59):
but I also know how big God isand that his love and grace
covers all the places we come upshort.
Come up short, so show kindnessand trust Jesus to work through
you and me, and pray that evenin our weakness and our
(17:20):
shortcomings, people still seeJesus and just like the church
in Ephesus.
It's important for us toremember that we are filled with
the Holy Spirit and Christ'slove.
It's important for us toremember that we are filled with
the Holy Spirit and Christ'slove.
We can pray big, bold prayersand expect God to do more than
we can ever imagine.
We can borrow the courage ofPaul and the early Ephesian
(17:48):
church.
Friends, think about where youneed strength in your life right
now.
Where can you pray boldly aboutyour life right now?
What parts of your heart need tobe open and swept out by Jesus
so the big, beautiful fruits ofthe Spirit can take root and
grow?
My loves, I want to end thisepisode praying over you, a
(18:10):
prayer that's inspired byEphesians 3, 16 to 21.
Our good, good Father,strengthen my sweet listeners
with the Holy Spirit so Jesushas space to live in their
hearts.
Space to live in their hearts,god, root them in your love.
(18:38):
Help them to grasp the widthand length and depth and height
of your never-ending, redeeminglove.
God, fill them with yourfullness.
Jesus, do immeasurably morethan all they can ask or imagine
in their lives, according toyour power at work within them.
God, I pray to you.
(18:58):
Be the glory in us and inChrist Jesus through all
generations forward and back,forever and ever.
Amen.
Friends, I hope you enjoyed thisepisode.
I know for me if I can behonest here it was an incredibly
healing one to write and toproduce.
(19:19):
I dug into some things thatbrought some tears to my little
mama heart, so I hope this had aprofound impact on you too.
Come back next time.
We're going to throw moreencouragement and more scripture
around like confetti.
Be careful If you get too close, you're totally going to get
(19:42):
some on you and remember, perusual, there's always something
to be grateful for.
Ciao.
Thank you for joining me,desiree Melfi-Bozzo, for this
episode of Life Out Loud.
I would love to hear from you,leave me a comment, tell me what
topics you want to talk aboutand how you take your coffee.
(20:05):
If you enjoyed what you heard,text a friend the link, share it
on social media.
Or if you're interested inbecoming a supporter, beep up
over to my webpage,lifeoutloudme, and sponsor a cup
of coffee that keeps thispodcast fueled Until next time,
sweet listeners.
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