Read, slowly and prayerfully, Ephesians 1:15-19.
Prayer of Intercession
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. Ephesians 1:15-16 NIV.
Paul was thankful for those who truly live a life of faith and a tender love for God’s people. He interceded for them in prayer. They were a walking witness to Christ’s power and love.
But, from a pastor’s heart, he understood that they needed something more. Imagine that Paul prayed this prayer for us today. What did he see that they required? What would he see we required as well?
God our Father
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory… Ephesians 1:15a.
The first thing Paul wants us to know is the Who. Who will answer our prayer, and who has the power to give us what we require, more than what we want? Who has our best interest in His heart? Who is this God we worship?
It is none other than our precious and beloved Father God!
Spirit of wisdom and revelation
…may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. Ephesians 1:17b.
If we could scan the Scriptures and grasp the wisdom and revelation of God, then we could handle any and everything that we face. We would have wisdom that comes from prayer, like King Solomon. We would have wisdom to know right from wrong. Most importantly, we would have wisdom to know God — His ways, His will, and His word. We would have wisdom that brings joy. In Proverbs, the book of wisdom, we find in chapter 8:13 that happy is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding.
We cannot scan and grasp everything presented in Scripture rightly without the Holy Spirit. And even then, we’re given only treasured measures of it because our minds can only grasp so much knowledge and our souls can only hold handle what is sufficient for today.
With such wisdom, we are provided insight into the mysteries and secrets of God. This is why it is to our best interest to continue daily in God’s Word. Here we are instructed, reproofed, corrected and trained in right living. This is why man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Paul prays that we might live the “with God” life. It is a deep and intimate knowledge of God. We know the heart of God by being with God. Such knowledge liberates our soul from error, and our guards of our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Eyes of the heart flooded with light
The eye of your understanding being enlightened. Ephesians 1:18a.
In many translations, this reads, “the eyes of your heart flooded.” But it means the same thing. The heart is the essence of our being and the place we grasp understanding emotionally and intellectually.
Our eyes need to be opened to see the light and not entertain darkness. We need to see, with our spiritual eyes, what God sees in others, in the world, and the circumstances you live in. Light always extinguishes darkness — never the other way around.
Hope to which you’re called
… that you may know what is the hope of your calling… Ephesians 1:18b
God called us, and what has He called us to? He calls us to relationship and then sets to reconcile us to Himself, save us from death, and point us in the right direction. We’re on a journey to the heart of God. If we could only grasp this calling of hope from the here and now and for the future.
It is true that we do not know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future.
Imagine a life without God. There is only ignorance, loneliness and no hope for the future. Without God, we sever His gracious plans for our own to live in a destiny of emptiness/death. There is no dignity without God.
Lord, may we have grateful hearts to enjoy the hope of our calling.
God’s glorious inheritance
What are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. Ephesians 1:18c.
Often times we are only interested in our inheritance. Some think it is eternal life, and they would be right. But as children of God, saints, our true inheritance is God Himself. Nothing else will do. Let everyone else have their gold, silver, fame, or whatever they think makes them successful and prosperous. For me, God is my inheritance and nothing else will do.
But this prayer is not wanting us to understand our inheritance, but God’s inheritance in us.
It pleases God to fellowship with us and gives us wisdom and knowledge. It is His heart’s desire to be with us and when we come to Him on that day; we see Him face-to-face, He will be delighted to bring us into His rest.
We are His inheritance!
What would happen if we saw ourselves the way He does? How would we live if we knew that God finds us valuable to Him — so valuable that He calls us His inheritance? Our origin and destiny are tied to God. He gives us ultimate meaning and purpose.
When we are facing trouble, temptations, or testing, then let us remember we’re not alone. We are God’s inheritance, so He has the power to keep us safe. It might be hard, but it would be harder still without God.
Our love relationship with Christ is precious in His sight. He treasures His treasure, and His treasure we are.
God’s Power
And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power. Ephesians 1:9
Do we honestly know the power of God?
It is infinite, unlimited, and dynamic. God’s power is useful to deliver us from sin, fulfill His promises, make grace abound in our hearts. God’s power subdues and sustains all things. His Devine power over is everywhere in nature, too.
Through His great power, He guards our soul to save and keep us as His inheritance. Additionally, God’s power enables us, weak creatures, to be strong in faith and live courageously with Him.
How are we ever to understand so great a power? Sacred Scripture gives us insight, and may the eyes of our hearts grasp the truth.
The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished… The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him. Nahum 1:3a & 7
Both riches and honor are from You. And You reign over all, in Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. I Chronicles 29:12
He stirs up the sea with His power. And by His understanding, He breaks up the storm. Job 26:12
He demonstrates this power by sending us the Holy Spirit. In this power, we see the unseen; we hear the unheard, and conceive what would otherwise be unknown.
What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human has conceived — the things God has prepared for those who love Him — these are the things God has revealed by His Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:9b-10a NIV
Call to Action
If you want to actually see the power of God and the beauty of His presence, then use this prayer to intercede for your loved ones:
Heavenly Father, God Almighty! I call to you on behalf of my family and loved ones. Please give ear to my prayer and listen to my heart plea. I pray that their minds will be ready to receive your wisdom and revelation only you can give. Additionally, I pray that You will open the eyes of their hearts and let the light of your truth flood in. Please show them the hope we have in our future with You. Not only their future with You, but their life with You today. Allow them to embrace this truth and make it their own. Give them a confidence in their future. Bring to their remembrance how much you value them as Your inheritance — Your treasured possession, the riches of Your glory. Lord! Please remind them of the power that works in us, and the power without, to bring us safely into Your eternal arms of mercy. May this be done for Your glory, in Your honor, and by Your power. Amen.
Bonus:
If you have time this week, read prayerfully Psalm 103, 104, and 105. Allow the Holy Spirit to teach you. Write down the spiritual wisdom you discover about God’s ways, character, and wisdom.
Tell me what you think in the comment section below, or the next time we meet on Zoom.
May the LORD bless and keep you until we meet again,
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