For this reason. Ephesians 3.

At the beginning of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul praised God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- for accomplishing His purposes and blessings through Christ. And after praising God, Paul was moved to pray. "For this reason..." marks the start of this prayer, and connects his prayer to what he's just written.

Chapter 3 begins with that same phrase, "For this reason...", but then Paul doesn't pray immediately. What happened? Let's take a look at chapter two, to see the reason Paul was ready to pray again. Chapter two is about reconciliation. First, there is the reconciliation of people (sinners) to God, expressed in verses 2:5&6 -- "But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you are saved!" In this great reconciliation of all people, God has also reconciled Jew and Gentile to each other. The hostility has ended and the groups are to become one body. Together we are being formed into a holy temple for God.

This is a stunning result of the work of Christ on the cross. It still happens today -- Jews and Arabs who become Christians are a part of the church together. And Paul has been a messenger of that work. For this reason he's ready to pray for a stronger understanding of Christ's love for them. One can almost imagine Paul moving to a position of prayer, and in that movement disturbing his chains, reminding him of his position in prison. And so he stops for a moment, and explains the situation and how it's his privilege to have delivered the gospel message to the Gentiles. Don't lose heart, it's all worth any price.

And then, having written those words of encouragement, Paul finishes his movement, kneels and prays for them, "for this reason...", and asks his scribe to record the words of his prayer.

And for this reason, it's my privilege to write these words each day, in the hope they will encourage you to think about your reading for the day.