Last month in Rooted Women's Bible Study we kicked off the summer Bible study plan for the book of Ephesians. As I have been meditating these last few weeks in Ephesians 1, I have been particularly struck by the way in which Paul prays for the believers in Ephesus. If you recall, Paul knew these believers well. He had lived amongst them and had been their pastor for a couple of years. He loved these believers and when he left them, he knew it was the last time he would see their faces this side of heaven. The scriptures tell us there was much weeping on the part of all. (For context on his relationship with the believers, read Acts 20:17-38).
Keeping in mind the depths of love Paul has for these believers, let’s look at how that love for them drove him to pray on their behalf. The first thing we notice is that his prayer begins with thankfulness. He does not cease to give thanks for them. Not to them but for them. His gratitude is directed toward God for these beloved saints. Why? Because it is God who has worked in these believers, calling them to Himself, giving them the faith to trust Him as Lord, and giving them hearts of love toward all the saints. He is thankful to God for the work that he has heard He is doing in their lives! Not only does he express his gratitude to God for His work, but he does this without ceasing. There is much I’m sure that Paul could be praying about without ceasing. Remember where Paul is in writing this letter. He is in prison in Rome. I’m sure he would prefer to be a free man. I’m sure he would rather be traveling to visit his friends in Ephesus, or heading to Spain to further the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. If I were Paul, my release from prison would be the ceaseless prayer I’d be praying! But not Paul. He does not cease to pray prayers of thankfulness!
The second thing we notice is that Paul’s petitions for his beloved friends are petitions that don’t center on their perceived needs but rather on what they truly need. And what is their true need? Knowledge. Not just any knowledge but specific knowledge. He prays that God would enable them through the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to know three things: that they would KNOW God, know the hope to which they had been called and what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and that they would know the immeasurable greatness of His power toward them.
Pages and pages could be said about each of these three things but time and space do not permit me to parse them out individually. But I do want to focus on the first one…that they would know God. To know God is our greatest need. So great that Paul tells us in Philippians that he “counts everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” Philippians 3:8). Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord says, “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight” (Jeremiah 9:23-24). Jesus said in John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they KNOW you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Knowing God intimately is our greatest need —it is life itself. Knowing God intimately is the greatest joy for those who have been called according to His purpose. It is the outcome of our salvation and it is the hope of heaven’s glories…an eternity of living in the presence of God, growing in our knowledge and understanding of Him and never being able to plumb the depths of who He is! Our greatest need being met in knowing the One true God somehow puts our other needs in the right perspective.
But to know God requires that He would reveal Himself to us. And how gloriously He has done so! That the Lord has made Himself known to us through His Word and through the person of the Lord Jesus Christ is truly astonishing.
Not only are we dependent on the Lord revealing Himself to us, but we are also dependent on Him to enlighten our hearts and give us wisdom to understand what He has revealed about Himself to us. And once again, God has graciously given us the Holy Spirit to do just that. Out of the immeasurable greatness of His power through His Spirit, He is working toward us that believe. How great is this power? It was great enough to raise Jesus from the dead and see that He is enthroned at the right hand of the Majesty on High! And it is this immeasurable greatness of His power that is working toward us (not against us). This is the power that is at work answering Paul’s petitions on behalf of these believers. It is this power that is at work in our lives as well.
I am continually challenged by the Word of God to think differently about my priorities in prayer and I hope you too will embrace the challenge. May we be people who increasingly pray prayers filled with God’s priorities for those we love!
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