In this closing passage of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul gives his readers some general instructions about prayer, then a specific illustration of prayer, and finally a benediction of prayer. One of his goals in writing this marvelous epistle was to provide the Church with significant teaching on salvation, reconciliation, the nature of God’s family and the believer's role in it as adopted sons and daughters, and the Christian’s newfound identity—that is who we are in Christ, whose we are in Christ, and what is ours in Christ. And he wrote all of this, as he did with most of his epistles, with one overarching goal in mind: to encourage and energize believers in their faith.