As Paul awaited trial in Rome, he penned a letter to the church in Ephesus, a church he had helped to establish, and a church that he had lovingly served for three fruitful years. He loved the Ephesian church and poured his heart out in prayer on her behalf.
“I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what is the wealth of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of His strength” (Ephesians 1:17-19).
Paul wanted the Ephesian believers to understand the great spiritual resources granted to them in their relationship to Christ. He prayed that God would bless them with “wisdom and revelation” and that they would be supernaturally “enlightened” concerning their “glorious inheritance.”
Paul wanted the Ephesians, and all Christians, to comprehend “the hope of His calling.” We mustn’t live under the heavy weight of wonder and worry. “I wonder if I’m really saved… I’m worried that if I died, I might not be accepted. What if…?” In Christ, we have been regenerated with the assurance of life everlasting. Our “hope” is certain. We have God’s irrevocable guarantee!
Additionally, Paul prayed that we might grasp “the immeasurable greatness of His power” … a power that is available to each of His adopted children.
The story is told of a woman who lived as an indigent pauper and died of malnourishment. After her death, a long-lost relative opened her safe-deposit box to find a treasure-trove of blue-ribbon stocks and stacks of hundred-dollar bills. She was a multi-millionaire.
Too many Christians live as spiritual paupers, unaware of the power that is theirs in Christ. We live like beggars, while in Christ, we are children of the King!
Paul prayed that we might know “the wealth of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of His strength.”
We could … we should … we must pray for ourselves and for our family and friends, that we might comprehend and be transformed and energized by these truths.
That’s praying bigger, bolder, better prayers.
“… think on these things” (Philippians 4:8, KJV).
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