I Said A Little Prayer For You
The saying goes, “some Christians are so heaven bound that they’re no earthly good”. This saying speaks to the need for balance in the Christian life between the hope of our salvation and eternal fellowship with God, and the need for us to live life as an overcomer here on earth. After identifying the spiritual blessings that God has planned for them in heaven in vv 1-14, in Ephesians 1:15-23, Paul prays for the believers at Ephesus. His prayer is that God would give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation to know God intimately and personally. Also, aside from Paul wanting them to know the certainty of their future with God, He prayed that they would live in the present knowing the availability of God’s power for their daily living. I pray that as you seek God daily, He will reveal himself to you in ways that draw you closer to Him and help you walk boldly in His power. Amen
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. (Ephesians 1:15-17) Paul opened this passage expressing to the saints at the church in Ephesus, that he has been continually giving thanks for them and praying for them. He gave thanks for them because of their demonstration of faith in Jesus and their love for God’s people. They had both a vertical relationship with the Lord and a horizontal relationship with God’s people. They didn’t just talk about these things, but they live them out. In addition to giving thanks, Paul was praying to the Father on their behalf. His prayer request was that they would receive “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation”. He prayed that the wisdom and revelation of God would come to them (and to us) through cooperation with the work of the Spirit, with the ultimate purpose of allowing them to know the Father more intimately and have a personal relationship with Him.
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. (Ephesians 1:18-19a) Paul prayed that through wisdom and revelation their hearts might be opened, giving them spiritual insight into God, in order to know 3 things as believers. First, they would know that their salvation or victory in God (i.e. hope) is a certainty. Second, they would know that God sees them as His glorious inheritance. The saints of God are valuable to Him, and have been purchased (redeemed) by Him at a great price. Third, they would know God’s almighty power that is directed toward believers in their daily Christian life. We are never powerless, for believers have God’s “great power” available to help us in our daily living.
That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. (Ephesians 1:19b-23) Paul expounds upon the magnitude of God's power that is available to Christian’s. Paul indicates 3 examples of that power as seen in what the Father has done in Christ. First, It is the same power exerted by the Father to raise Christ from the dead and exalt Him to a seat at the Father’s right hand (a position of authority). Christ is seated in the heavenly realms above all human or angelic power and authority both in the present and the future. Second, It is the same power that the Father used when He placed all things under his (Christ’s) feet. Christ has been made head over all creation by the Father. Finally, it is the same power that the Father demonstrated in making Christ the head of the church. The Church Universal, consists of all believers, and is the body of Christ’s. Christ in turn fills the church with every blessing and gift necessary for the building up of the body with all that it needs to succeed in its calling.
The same things that Paul wanted for believers at the church in Ephesus, he wants for you and I. He prayed that God would give believers the wisdom and the revelation to know him more intimately and more personally. We gather that wisdom and revelation through the leading of the Holy Spirit and the reading of God‘s word. In God‘s word he reveals to us his desire for us to be with Him eternally, but He also makes us know that His power is available to us through faith in his son Jesus the Christ, to live our lives here on earth. It is His power, available to us for daily living, that allows us to overcome the trouble of this world and become more than conquerors in whatever trials and tribulations we find ourselves dealing with. God’s revelation,,, wisdom… intimacy… and power. That was Paul’s prayer for the saints at Ephesus… and that is the blessing I also pray to God for you! Amen.
Blessings my brothers and sisters,
Rev. Glenn
Listen to “Be Blessed” by Paul S. Morton
