Ephesians 1:15-23 - A life of prayer

Do you struggle to maintain a consistent life of prayer? Why? I suspect the answer for most of us is that we secretly, perhaps thoughtlessly still think that we can provide all the power we need to live the Christian life: "God helped me to become a believer but from here on it's up to me to grow!".

Just read Ephesians 1:15-23 and see how wrong you are...

Paul prays that the believers in Ephesus wouldn't make the same mistake of thinking they can live the Christian life in their own strength. You must notice the significance if this: Paul is practicing what he is preaching while he is preaching to them! He is after all praying for them that they will know that their power can only come from the God to whom he is praying!

And as proof of God's power Paul wants them to go back to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They must look at the events around Christ's death and resurrection and see afresh that God is ready to work in them as he worked "in Christ when he raised him from the dead..." (Eph 1:20). Are you starting to see what Paul is doing? He is praying that God will not only give them the head knowledge but also the heart wisdom to know God and trust him for life and death.

So, what do we need to do? Do we just pray and wait that God gives us the "Spirit of wisdom and revelation" or do we only study the Bible to understand the power of God in the resurrection of Jesus? You know the answer: we need to do both. Or as John Stott puts it: "It is precisely as we use our minds to ponder what God has done in Christ that the Spirit will open our eyes to grasp its implications."

Prayer
Our God and Father, we praise and thank you that you chose us to put our hope in your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you for your Spirit that continues to remind us that we belong to you even in difficult and challenging times. We thank you for your church, asking that you will help us to escape from our individualistic idea of our salvation and instead giving us a large, communal idea of salvation. Amen