Paul’s Prayers for the Ephesians (part 1)
Introduction It is always edifying to read the prayers recorded for us in Scripture. Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple (2 Chr. 6), Daniel’s prayer of confession (Dan. 9), and Jesus’ prayer for His disciples (Jn. 17) not only teach truth, but also reverence and respect for God.
While Paul was in prison in Rome he wrote letters to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. In each book, Paul told them the goals of his prayers. In these prayers he offered his heartfelt desire that God would give them what they most needed. By allowing Paul to write them in the letters, the Holy Spirit stamped these prayers with inspiration and made them important for all Christians and all churches.
Paul had not visited Ephesus since the riot forced his two year stay with them to end (Acts 19; 20:1, 16-17). So it had been several years since he had seen them. When word reached him about their faith toward Jesus and their love for the brethren, he could not stop thanking God for what they were doing. Along with the thanksgiving, their reputation led him to fervently pray. What he prayed for is what all churches and all brethren who are showing great faith in Jesus and love toward the saints need. Since they needed it and the Spirit recorded it, we need it too.
A Spirit of Wisdom. He asked God to give them “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Eph. 1:17). This is the mental and emotional attitude that colors all our thinking. Since “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of ... wisdom” (Pr. 1:7), wisdom is seeing everything through the lens of reverence and respect for God. “The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver... purified seven times” (Ps. 12:6), so all our lives are directed through the reality of God’s word and not the “aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers” (1 Pet. 1:18). Paul prayed that all false reality would be removed and we would see all things through the prism of Scripture “given by inspiration of God, profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:15).
When we pray along with Paul and seek this goal, the eyes of our heart will open our mind to things otherwise unseen (for we walk by faith and not by sight-2 Cor. 5:7). With this enlightenment, we walk, “the path of the just... like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day” (Pr. 4:18). This knowledge will help us no longer “look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18).
The Hope Of Your Calling. Like Moses, we too must “esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward” (Heb. 11:26). This was the joy that was set before Him that led Jesus to “endure the cross, despising the shame” (Heb. 12:2). Our heart needs to be fully lit up with this hope. With an enlightened heart, Paul saw “that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18). Nothing is too difficult if our heart is lit up with the hope of our calling. Peter praised God for the “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and the inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Pet. 1:3-4). We too need to pray that our hope, “like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.”
Riches Of Glory Of His Inheritance. Riches (abundance/plenitude), and glory (magnificence/preeminence) are determined by quantity or quality. A single diamond can bring great wealth and honor. Paul prayed that through revelation we will see as God sees about the important things of this creation. Redeemed souls are the priceless diamonds.
Although the material creation is such an amazing feat of God’s wisdom and power, the enlightened mind knows it is only temporary and thus of secondary importance. All that God did in Genesis is destined for a fire “in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat” (2 Pet. 3:10). There is nothing in the material creation for God to inherit. So after taking all that is seen away, what eternal unseen things remain?
The riches and glory God will inherit from this creation are the eternal souls of men. All God’s efforts in the material creation are directed toward man’s soul. That is where the riches of the glory is to be found. But since God has “no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Ezek. 33:11), he is not speaking of all souls. God will only inherit ransomed souls, for “anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15).
Paul prays that our enlightened eyes will see that God’s inheritance is the saints. As the earth is being burned up, Jesus will “send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Mt. 13:40-42). So out of all the earth and all humanity, the only thing God receives are the saints. But how does he feel about them? They are riches and glory to him! This places the church in a very different light indeed. It is the depository in each community of God’s inheritance. So evangelism is like panning for gold seeking to increase God’s inheritance. The church is like God’s vault where all the ransomed are kept to be delivered to God in the end. Never forget: “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints” (Ps. 116:15).
The Exceeding Greatness Of His Power. Finally, Paul wanted us to know “the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Eph. 1:19). Power is access to a substance like electricity or a material (fuel) that makes things possible. With tools using power things are easier and we accomplish more. As with all other sources of power, Christians must have their minds enlightened so we know how to access it. God has given saints two sources of power.
First we have his word. “The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes” (Rom. 1:16). “The word of God, which also effectively works in you that believe.” (1 Th. 2:13). “My word “is “as the rain and the snow watering the earth, making it bring forth and bud.” (Isa. 55:10-11). “For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb. 4:12). Second we have prayer. “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (Jas. 5:16). “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Mt. 7:7).
With an enlightened mind, filled with revelation, and seeing the unseen, we have great confidence because this power is exceedingly great! It is “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Eph. 3:20). With this power we can “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Eph. 6:10). Working with “the strength which God supplies” (1 Pet. 4:11), “we may boldly say: The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Heb. 13:6). “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37).
Without this enlightenment, we may see ourselves only as grasshoppers. It is easy to feel insignificant. “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen” (1 Cor. 1:27-28). But with our enlightened eyes we see that “the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Cor. 1:25). We must never forget “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (I Jn. 4:4).
Conclusion. We stand in awe of God’s power in taking Israel out of Egypt or saving Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego out of the fiery furnace. But the power now working in us is greater. Like Paul we too should be praying that the eyes of our heart might be enlightened so we know these things.
While Paul was in prison in Rome he wrote letters to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. In each book, Paul told them the goals of his prayers. In these prayers he offered his heartfelt desire that God would give them what they most needed. By allowing Paul to write them in the letters, the Holy Spirit stamped these prayers with inspiration and made them important for all Christians and all churches.
Paul had not visited Ephesus since the riot forced his two year stay with them to end (Acts 19; 20:1, 16-17). So it had been several years since he had seen them. When word reached him about their faith toward Jesus and their love for the brethren, he could not stop thanking God for what they were doing. Along with the thanksgiving, their reputation led him to fervently pray. What he prayed for is what all churches and all brethren who are showing great faith in Jesus and love toward the saints need. Since they needed it and the Spirit recorded it, we need it too.
A Spirit of Wisdom. He asked God to give them “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Eph. 1:17). This is the mental and emotional attitude that colors all our thinking. Since “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of ... wisdom” (Pr. 1:7), wisdom is seeing everything through the lens of reverence and respect for God. “The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver... purified seven times” (Ps. 12:6), so all our lives are directed through the reality of God’s word and not the “aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers” (1 Pet. 1:18). Paul prayed that all false reality would be removed and we would see all things through the prism of Scripture “given by inspiration of God, profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:15).
When we pray along with Paul and seek this goal, the eyes of our heart will open our mind to things otherwise unseen (for we walk by faith and not by sight-2 Cor. 5:7). With this enlightenment, we walk, “the path of the just... like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day” (Pr. 4:18). This knowledge will help us no longer “look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18).
The Hope Of Your Calling. Like Moses, we too must “esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward” (Heb. 11:26). This was the joy that was set before Him that led Jesus to “endure the cross, despising the shame” (Heb. 12:2). Our heart needs to be fully lit up with this hope. With an enlightened heart, Paul saw “that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18). Nothing is too difficult if our heart is lit up with the hope of our calling. Peter praised God for the “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and the inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Pet. 1:3-4). We too need to pray that our hope, “like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.”
Riches Of Glory Of His Inheritance. Riches (abundance/plenitude), and glory (magnificence/preeminence) are determined by quantity or quality. A single diamond can bring great wealth and honor. Paul prayed that through revelation we will see as God sees about the important things of this creation. Redeemed souls are the priceless diamonds.
Although the material creation is such an amazing feat of God’s wisdom and power, the enlightened mind knows it is only temporary and thus of secondary importance. All that God did in Genesis is destined for a fire “in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat” (2 Pet. 3:10). There is nothing in the material creation for God to inherit. So after taking all that is seen away, what eternal unseen things remain?
The riches and glory God will inherit from this creation are the eternal souls of men. All God’s efforts in the material creation are directed toward man’s soul. That is where the riches of the glory is to be found. But since God has “no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Ezek. 33:11), he is not speaking of all souls. God will only inherit ransomed souls, for “anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15).
Paul prays that our enlightened eyes will see that God’s inheritance is the saints. As the earth is being burned up, Jesus will “send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Mt. 13:40-42). So out of all the earth and all humanity, the only thing God receives are the saints. But how does he feel about them? They are riches and glory to him! This places the church in a very different light indeed. It is the depository in each community of God’s inheritance. So evangelism is like panning for gold seeking to increase God’s inheritance. The church is like God’s vault where all the ransomed are kept to be delivered to God in the end. Never forget: “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints” (Ps. 116:15).
The Exceeding Greatness Of His Power. Finally, Paul wanted us to know “the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Eph. 1:19). Power is access to a substance like electricity or a material (fuel) that makes things possible. With tools using power things are easier and we accomplish more. As with all other sources of power, Christians must have their minds enlightened so we know how to access it. God has given saints two sources of power.
First we have his word. “The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes” (Rom. 1:16). “The word of God, which also effectively works in you that believe.” (1 Th. 2:13). “My word “is “as the rain and the snow watering the earth, making it bring forth and bud.” (Isa. 55:10-11). “For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb. 4:12). Second we have prayer. “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (Jas. 5:16). “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Mt. 7:7).
With an enlightened mind, filled with revelation, and seeing the unseen, we have great confidence because this power is exceedingly great! It is “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Eph. 3:20). With this power we can “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Eph. 6:10). Working with “the strength which God supplies” (1 Pet. 4:11), “we may boldly say: The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Heb. 13:6). “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37).
Without this enlightenment, we may see ourselves only as grasshoppers. It is easy to feel insignificant. “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen” (1 Cor. 1:27-28). But with our enlightened eyes we see that “the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Cor. 1:25). We must never forget “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (I Jn. 4:4).
Conclusion. We stand in awe of God’s power in taking Israel out of Egypt or saving Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego out of the fiery furnace. But the power now working in us is greater. Like Paul we too should be praying that the eyes of our heart might be enlightened so we know these things.