…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.

Ephesians 1:17

Revelation is a wonderful word and it applies directly to the life of anyone who has surrendered his/her life to Jesus Christ. Revelation means that something has been revealed to us that was once hidden. Revelation is the unveiling of knowledge about God that we cannot obtain through our own efforts. This revelation comes from God who desires to reveal Himself to whoever desires to know Him. Just as God told the exiles in the Old Testament, he says to each of us today:

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

  Jeremiah 29:13

We either have hearts that hunger for God or we will find ourselves satisfied with the ordinary and mundane. But God desires more for us than that and today’s passage is a prayer of Paul for the believers in Ephesus revealing his desire to see them live full, abundant, and powerful lives by the power of the Spirit of God living within them. And we have the same opportunity to pray God’s Word over our own lives. Yes, Christians can pray for revelation. We can ask God to reveal to us things that have previously been hidden from our understanding. God does this in two ways: (1) The revelation of God has been given to us in the pages of scripture (the 66 books of the Bible.) (2) God illuminates these truths to those who are filled with the Holy Spirit of God. In other words, spending time in God’s Word and praying that God will reveal Himself to us yields spiritual wisdom, revelation, and knowledge. And what does this revelation do for us? In order to answer that, let’s take a look at a parallel passage to this one.

For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…

                  Colossians 1:9-10

Being Filled

Godly knowledge far exceeds just cognitive understanding. In order to experience the revelation of God, we need to incorporate both our hearts and our minds. That’s why Paul prays that the 1st century Christians “may be filled.” It’s not enough that we know about God, we are to be in a relationship with Him, one in which we are daily “filled” with His presence. This far surpasses anything that dead, powerless religious motion can offer. This “filling” comes through the Spirit of God and transforms every aspect of our lives. Consider Paul’s wording in his prayer:

…that He (God) would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man…that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

      Ephesians 3:16,19b

Is this what your Christian walk looks like? Have you traded in God’s best for something else that is powerless and incapable of transforming your life? We are to be filled, and not just filled with facts about God, rather we are to be filled with the very presence of God Himself, transforming our hearts, our souls, and our minds. Spiritual wisdom, revelation, and knowledge always leads us into a deeper relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ and by the power of the Spirit of God. And this deeper relationship directly affects our daily lives and results in several things that accompany a life in right relationship to God.

Result Of Being Filled With Godly Revelation

1. Living In A Manner Worthy of The Lord

Would you say that your are living in a manner worthy of God? Living in “a manner worthy” of God means responding appropriately to a loving God who created us and desires to have a relationship with us. It’s what we were created for and it’s why all who live outside of this born again relationship are truly missing out on life’s best…God’s best. One of the results of being “filled” and obtaining revelation from God is so that we have everything necessary to respond to Him appropriately. When the Bible refers to the way in which we “walk,” it is referring to the way in which we live…our lifestyle. How would you characterize your lifestyle? It is one that points people toward the world or is it a lifestyle that points people to Jesus? The answer to that question will assist us in determining whether or not we are “walking in a manner worthy of the Lord.”

2. Pleasing God In All Respects

Another result of being filled with the Spirit of God and enjoying revelation from Him is so that we can please Him. Do you consistently ask yourself the question, “Is my life pleasing to God?” We should! Consider this:

…for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

Ephesians 5:8-10

As Christians, we have been redeemed and are now able to live uncommon lives that rival the ordinary existence of the world and its ways. And there are promises to those who live lives pleasing to God:

When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

      Proverbs 16:7

…and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

  1 John 3:22 

Our interpersonal relationships with others are affected when we please God. Our prayer lives move from stale to vibrant when our lives are pleasing to God. But perhaps the most important thing we could say about pleasing God is something that might escape many. Because we were created to have a relationship with God and please Him in all respects, a life without God, no matter how much is accomplished in this life, is a life that cannot be characterized as successful. Said another way, if our lives are pleasing to God, we can say that we are truly, eternally successful.

3. Bearing Fruit For The Kingdom

Praying for God’s revelation means that we are positioning ourselves to be effective in kingdom work. What is kingdom work? It is everything that we do that will follow us into eternity. Kingdom work is for every Christian, not just those in vocational ministry. As Christians, each of us has a gift or gifts that are to be used to assist in the development of fellow believers, encouraging them and even confronting them, if necessary (Matthew 28:18-20), and for the proclamation of the gospel to a lost and dying world (Mark 16:15-16). Jesus reminds us that focusing on the eternal rather than merely working for the temporal will yield treasure in heaven for those of us who dedicate our lives to “bearing fruit.” 

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

      Matthew 6:19-21

4. Growing Closer To God 

Finally, a tangible result that comes from being filled with all spiritual wisdom, revelation, and knowledge of God is the reality that this will bring us closer to Him. Again, “increasing in the knowledge of God” means more than just possessing factual comprehension. “Being filled to all of the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19b) is exactly what it says. We are to be filled, daily, with the very presence of God. It is this personal relationship that is necessary for our salvation and it is the presence of God that enables us to live in a way “worthy of the Lord”, pleasing God, being effective in kingdom work, and growing closer to Him. 

Do you pray God’s Word over your life? It is one of the most powerful things any of us can do because we can never go wrong when we pray the words of God back to Him. His words are always His will for our lives. Taking scripture and personalizing it brings tremendous power into our lives and allows us to live in the power and provision of Christ. Try it today! Pray that God would fill you with all revelation of Himself and His will for your life!

Father, thank you for the salvation that I enjoy in Christ. I desire to grow closer to you today, so I am asking that you would give me a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of You. Thank you for your faithfulness in my life! In Jesus’ name, Amen!