“Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, 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.” Ephesians 1:15‭-‬17

How cool would it be to have the Apostle Paul praying for you! Paul, who knew Jesus personally, even though he didn’t become a believer till after Jesus had finished His earthly mission and had returned to Heaven! Paul, who single-handedly and personally, took the Gospel to more of the world than any other person had to date! Paul who wrote most of the New Testament! Paul, whose perspective was “through I’m chained to a high-ranking Roman officer 24hrs a day-every guard shift change brings me a new opportunity to influence someone for Christ who had the platform to influence the world”! This Paul had heard and noted the “strong faith and love” the Ephesians had and had begun praying for them regularly!

Paul’s prayer? Thanking God for them, that “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.”
What a great prayer! Paul acknowledges God’s Presence in them and from a position of GRADITUDE”, asked our “Glorious Father”, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, would give this church “spiritual wisdom and insight”. This kind of insight or perspective can only come from God!

Wisdom has been said to be “applied knowlegde”. Un a world of technology overload and information availability, it occurs to me that we OFTEN lack wisdom. We have so much knowledge, literally now at our finger tips, but often NO ability to apply it in a meaningful way in our lives! These Ephesians weren’t that different. They lived in a society that prided itself in deep thought and the philosophy of such deep thinkers as Arestotal, Plato and Socrities and yet Paul prayed they’d have wisdom and insight.

True wisdom come from God. So does true insight. They come from seeing the world as God sees it. We call this having a Biblical world-veiw. It’s a perspective shift from thinking as the rest of the world thinks and acting accordingly. It’s engaging the world as the church, not just merely going to church and hoping the world notices! It’s being the Body of Christ, His hands, His feet, His heart and His voice to the Nations. It’s leading them to Him! To what purpose? So they could grow in their knowledge of God! There’s the wisdom-notice Paul didn’t pray they’d grow in their knowledge ABOUT God, but they’d grow in their knowledge of Him! In other words, that they’d grow in their relationship and trust in Him.

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian church is mine for you today! I pray that our Glorious God, our Father and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, before Whom we bow, give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.” Amen

Think about it!