so i looked at the IMPACT that the church of ephesis had on paul. today i want to focus on what he had to say following this…
paul goes on to tell how he would pray for those there in the church and he lists the things he would pray for. this is a great tool for us to use today as we pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ…because we all do that right?
eph. 1:16 …I pray for you constantly, 17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. 18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. 19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. (NLT)
he starts out by saying, “i pray for you constantly.” and he’s asking for wisdom and insight…so they can know God better…for them to understand this hope of heaven and all that entails…for them to understand God’s power. he is praying for them to grow in their faith, to grow closer to God, to understand who they are in Him.
so the first challenge…to pray constantly. i’m sure that we all have a handle on that one right? it’s a struggle for me just to remember the requests that are shared with me. i have to write them down! doing that helps me to remember, but i still don’t do it constantly. GREAT challenge there!
then he shares his concern for them to grow spiritually. not for them to be safe or comfortable or to get everything they ever desired in life…not that i can’t pray for the requests that are given to me…but i need to pray for more than that. i need to pray that God would continue to work in the lives of my brothers and sisters in Christ. i need to pray for them to be challenged, stretched, molded by God.
my challenge is to see how you can apply this…
for me, it takes me back to a series on prayer that i taught a couple months back. it was based on Jesus’ prayer in john 17.
as a part of that series i put together a prayer card with the days of the week…then i was able to write down the names of those in my prayer group, next to the days of the week. then i can remember to pray for them spiritually and for their requests. it’s been a great tool for me personally and has helped me grow in my conversational ability with my Father. it has helped me in the area of caring for my brothers in Christ.
who is it that you can be praying for, for God to challenge, stretch, and mold? if you can’t think of anyone, please pray that for me!!!
Man…God is doing some great stuff in our lives. He is bringing you and I to many of the same exact things! My first semester this year I taught through Ephesians and that passage is a prayer that I shared as part of my prayer with the class almost every day. That God would give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation to know him more. He also laid this portion of scripture on me that goes right along with it, I’ve labeled it for the classes as “A blueprint for Bible Study”:
Amazing man, I can’t wait to see what’s next!