If you want to know how to pray, take a good look at the prayers of Paul. They provide a great place to start. One of his most significant prayers is recorded in Ephesians chapter 3. In this prayer, he offers four main requests to God for the believers in Ephesus. These four requests apply to you as well. Here is what Paul prayed:

• That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.
• That you would be rooted and established in love.
• That you would be strengthened with the power of God's Spirit to grasp the love of God.
• That you would be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Notice the nature of these requests. Paul is praying about issues that affect the core of who we are as believers. Issues that shape every other area of life.

Imagine the clear sense of purpose you would have with Christ at home in your heart. Imagine how you would handle the temptations of the world rooted and established in the love of God. Imagine how knowing the height, length, depth and breadth of God's love would change the way you treat your spouse or neighbors.

Paul isn't asking God to put bandaids on us to cover up whatever problems we might have. Nor is he asking for a list of rules and regulations for us to follow. No, he is praying that God will transform us from the inside out and teach us the life that is lived by grace through faith in Jesus.

He is praying that God will fill out our lives with his. This is a prayer that God is eager to answer!