For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.

                                                                                                           Ephesians 1:15-19

Scripture gives us a lot of guidance when it comes to prayer. Jesus taught on prayer and we have examples of how and for what the early church prayed. Today is one such prayer. Listen to Paul as we move through this amazing prayer.

He begins by giving thanks for these Christians who were living in Ephesus. They seemed to have two things going for them. One, they were faithful, meaning that, having heard the gospel, they had placed their trust in Jesus as their Savior. And two, they had a deep and abiding love for one another. Let’s pause there for just a moment. These two pieces of the Christian life are invaluable, imperative, and irreplaceable. If we are going to call ourselves followers of Jesus, we must have made a decision to place our entire trust in the Person of Jesus, understanding that He is the only means of salvation. In addition to faith, we must demonstrate our love for each other. The hallmark of an authentic Christian life is the ability to love, even in the most difficult of circumstances. This is what Paul saw in these believers and it was the very thing for which he was thankful.

He then begins to ask God for some specific things for these believers. He starts by asking God to give them a “spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of God.” Paul wants to see these believers possess a supernatural knowledge of God that surpasses any ability for human, intellectual study. To begin, wisdom does not necessarily mean that you are intelligent or well studied. Wisdom from God is the ability to assess a situation and then navigate those circumstances in an orderly and responsible manner. It is possible for us to possess great intellectual knowledge yet lack true wisdom. When we continue to make the same mistakes over and over again, we demonstrate a void in this area of our lives. The good news is that we can ask for wisdom from God and He will provide it for us (James 1:5-8). Paul wanted these believers to possess wisdom in relation to the knowledge of God.

In addition to wisdom, he asks for God to give them a revelation. The word “revelation” derives from the word “reveal.” When we speak of receiving a revelation from God, we are saying that God has revealed something to us. In the broadest sense, revelation from God has been manifested and culminates in the Person of Jesus (Hebrews 1:1-3). As believers, we understand that knowing Christ means knowing God. When we are born again, we receive the Spirit of God, who reveals to us that Jesus is the Christ. Anyone who denies the Lordship of Jesus would be demonstrating that they have not had this revelation from God. Paul wanted these believers to have a supernatural revelation of the knowledge of God.

The point of this wisdom and revelation was so that the believers would know Christ. Later in this same letter, we will see Paul state that “knowing the love of Christ surpasses knowledge.” Simply put, there is an experiential knowledge of God that goes far beyond any book study we could pursue. In Christ we can know God, that is, we can have a relationship with Him. This is where religion fails humanity. Religion focuses on deeds that we perform in order to either be right with God or to maintain our “status” with God. This is not the message of the gospel. Paul is praying that these believers would truly know Christ in a relational way. This is the offer made to us as well. Today, we can know God through a relationship with Jesus Christ, one that will last throughout our lives as well as into eternity.

Secondly, Paul prays that these believers would have the “eyes of their hearts enlightened.” This is similar to revelation. God reveals Himself to us through Jesus but He can also enlighten our hearts so that we begin to see things from a spiritual vantage point, something unbelievers are incapable of doing. The purpose of this enlightening of the people’s hearts was threefold:

(1) He wanted them to know and to have hope. Hope is such an interesting word in that we tend to use it in ways the Bible never intended. We say things like, “I sure hope I get the job.” “I sure hope my team wins on Sunday.” “ I sure hope I can get off work early today.” In each instance, the desired outcome is uncertain. You might not get the job. Your team might lose on Sunday. You may end up working late. The way we use hope and the way the Bible describes hope is two entirely different propositions. Biblical hope is knowing that something is true, even when it doesn’t seem like it. Applied to our examples, biblical hope would sound like this; “I know I am going to get the job.” “I know that my team is going to win on Sunday.” “I know that I am getting off early today.” Do you see the difference? Biblical hope brings certainty while earthly hope is just wishful thinking.

(2) He wanted them to know the spiritual riches that were theirs in Christ. When we have a relationship with Jesus, all of the spiritual riches of heaven are ours. We do not have to wait to pass from this life in order to experience them (although in heaven they will become completely clear). God delights in providing spiritual riches to all who call on His name (Romans 10:12). Everything we need for life on earth and in heaven is provided to us through Christ. I believe that too often believers live in a state of “spiritual poverty” when the very riches of heaven are theirs for the asking. God is a loving, benevolent heavenly Father who delights in giving us spiritual blessings (Psalm 37:4, Matthew 7:11). Don’t walk life’s road without claiming and enjoying your spiritual position in Jesus.

(3) He wanted them to know the power of God in their life. Did you know that as a believer in Jesus, you have the very power of God aimed toward you? Notice the description of this power. It is the surpassing greatness of God’s power. I love when the Bible uses multiple descriptors because it is emphasizing the significance of the thing described, in this instance God’s power. Paul wanted these believers to know that the surpassing greatness of God’s power was towards those who believe. If you’re a believer, that includes you. Walk in the power of God today. You will be amazed at how He will choose to reveal it to you.

So as we close our examination of this prayer, the question then becomes, is this the way you pray? If not, what keeps you from praying this way? I believe that all too often, our prayer life could be described as anemic. But the cure for an anemic prayer life is praying the very words of scripture. I believe one of the most powerful things we can do in prayer is to pray scripture back to God. Why not give it a try and start by making this amazing prayer your own!