“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” Eph. 1:15-21
Ephesians is one of my go-to books. And as I begin this day with reading this passage all I can say is “Amen!” to this prayer Paul prayed for his dear friends in Ephesus. I pray this or something similar for y’all most every day for I know that each day has its own challenges for you and you need to be reminded of these truths. So I pray that God through His Holy Spirit will make these especially evident for you today.
And I pray it for myself as well, for on those days when I know I am not living up to His expectation I find myself praying this prayer because of my need to remember these truths. Afterwards, I will pray something like this, “Father, Son and Holy Spirit, me too—open the eyes of my heart that I might see more clearly your beauty, glory, grace and hope. For the better I know you, the less I stay preoccupied with me. Indeed, the fuller my relationship is with you, the deeper my peace is, the quicker my repentances become, and the more joyfully I love and serve others.”
We all need to pray that God would flood our hearts with insight into His hope that He has secured for us as His children in Christ. This is a living hope, a hope of glory, an anchor of certainty in a world of ebbing and flowing chaos (or so it seems on those days we lose sight of His hope). For as surely as He has called us to Himself, He has called us to hope. Read again this hopeful section, “having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, (by His Holy Spirit) that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might that He worked in (and through) Christ…” Hard not to be thankful after being reminded of this.
God has promised that He will bring to completion the good work He has begun in us, and in the entire cosmos. Even as He has declared us to be righteous in Christ, He will make us fully like Christ, one Day.
So again remember today: He has chosen us (before the foundations of the earth) to receive His inheritance as His sons and daughters; so we are beloved, treasured, and secure beyond our wildest dreams. Nothing can separate us from His love or keep His purposes from being fulfilled; and right now, that is enough for me… that is definitely enough. I hope that is the case with y’all today!
In His Grip,
Pastor Mike
