“…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.” Ephesians 1:17
One of the great blessings and needs of the worshiper of the Lord Jesus Christ, is to have an ever-expanding, clear vision of who He was when He walked on this earth, and what He IS in heaven at this very moment. Indeed, the perfect and complete work on Calvary as it applies to every believer has its realization by the vision that we have received according to the word of God, made alive and living to us by the Spirit. A vision of Christ, that which we perceive of Him according to the truth, is essential to faith. If the believer would appropriate Christ, receive from Him his life and all that pertains to that new life in Christ, then the perception must be true, real, and certain. God is perfectly faithful, but He answers the call of faith only according to the truth of Scripture. So, Paul, in praying for the believers in Ephesus, writes down two great and fundamental prayers.
The first of these prayers has to do with the “…Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, of Christ.” (1:17) This prayer is imperative in that it addresses that very basic need of having an ever-increasing vision of Christ, in clarity and comprehension, so as to trust Him fully. The Psalmist spoke of this need that he keenly felt, when he wrote of thirsting after God in a dry and thirsty land. He went on to write, “…to see Thy power and Thy glory, so as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary.” (Ps. 63:2) In that vision of God, there was revealed to him the lovingkindness of God. So real and true was this vision, or perception of God in truth, that faith would propel the Psalmist to follow hard after God, experiencing the reality of Him upholding him, sustaining, keeping, and providing for him. Faith would grow and become stronger with the increased revelation to the heart of God in His glory. Paul thus prays to the Father, that He would GIVE to the Ephesian believers, corporately as a body of believers, but also to the individual believer, the Spirit of God in such measure that each one would have a renewed, and amplified vision of Christ.
The second great need of the believers in Ephesus, as seen by the prayer that Paul prayed for them was for strength, power to believe, to lay hold upon God. His prayer is found in chapter three of his letter. He again prayed to “the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, … that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man.” (3:14,16) Why does Paul pray, and why does He pray specifically? It was James the Apostle who wrote in regard to prayer, that “…ye have not because ye ask not.” (4:3) God has called every believer to a life of communion with Him. The call to pray is an integral part of that communion, a privilege and responsibility which is given to each member in the body of Christ, so that God can reveal Himself by the Spirit to, and through, the life. If the church in Ephesus is to receive the measure of strength and power needed to lay hold on God by faith, then prayer MUST be made. The wonderful thing about this prayer is that it is certainly according to the will of God, for God delights to give His strength and power so that the believer can BE what God has called him to be and accomplish the will of God. Power is essential for faith to overcome the opposition to it. Believing prayer is the means for meeting one’s personal, individual need, but also for the need of the church. If the living church is to be an overcoming church, then faith must be strengthened to believe God for His fulness.
Dear Father, Strengthen our hearts today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.