How often do you pray for those God has redeemed and placed in your path? We tend to pray for those closest to us and those prayers are usually for material or physical needs. How often do you pray for their spiritual growth? Paul in Ephesians 1:15 – 23 is praying for the Ephesians that are new believers. He praises God for them and thanks God for them. Before he asks God for anything He praises Him. This should be a pattern for our own prayers.
Ephesians 1:15-16 “Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers”
After his praise, he turns to making requests on their behalf. These new Christians were not blood relatives or close friends. They were new believers that God had brought into the kingdom. He asks God to help them to understand His word, to give them the wisdom to apply it to their lives. He wants them to understand all that God has for them as a new believer, to understand the inheritance they are now privileged to be a part of.
Ephesians 1:17- 18 “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints”
In verse 19 I can see the Apostle Paul pausing to consider the magnitude of God’s greatness. As he searches for words to adequately describe the power of God, he gets excited as he expresses that this power is for the believer. His exceeding greatness of power is to us! It is power from the redeemer, power in keeping us, raising us from the dead, and finally power in exalting us with Christ in Heaven. This same power raised Jesus from the dead and it exalts us to be an heir of God. It is above all the powers of any ruler or kingdom. God has, “put all things under His feet,” he has given Jesus the power over all things, demons, angels, His creation, and all who believe. Nothing is excluded and no one is greater. In the last verse, we are given the great promise that we, the church, are the fullness or completion of the body with Christ as the head.
Ephesians 1:19-23 “And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that fills all in all.”
Paul begins this prayer with praise to God for the believers and asks for spiritual growth for them. He starts with praise and ends with praise. He never loses his focus on the greatness and goodness of God. We too would do well to pray in this fashion. I understand sometimes our burdens are heavy and all-consuming, but we must never lose sight of the goodness and awesomeness of God. Our praise is expected and desired by Him. It can take a day burdened down with the cares of this world and elevate us to a place that no one can take from us. It can bring us to the throne of God where we are loved and viewed as precious in His sight. What an awesome place to be. Changing our focus this way will make us a more productive, peaceful, and loving ambassador for Christ.
