"Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power..."
(Ephesians 1:15-19)
A dear friend recently shared this scripture with me. Judy is a true example of a faithful prayer warrior. When this servant of God is asked to pray for someone, she often uses Ephesians 1 as a guide, especially when she doesn't know what or how to pray for the individual. Let's take a closer look.
The Apostle Paul begins with thanksgiving as he prays. Thanksgiving and praise settles the heart, focuses the mind and leads the intercessor into the Presence of God.
And then Paul prays that the child of God will receive "the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling..."
What does this mean? I think the best explanation is found in my Spirit Filled Life Bible commentary, "Paul says he prays for people to receive 'the spirit of wisdom and revelation', with the dual objective of their knowing Christ and understanding God's purpose and power in their lives. Such 'revelation' refers to an unveiling of our hearts that we may receive insight into the way God's Word is intended to work in our lives."
Woo-Hoo! Doesn't that make sense out of a complicated scripture?
Knowing Christ and gaining an understanding of God's purpose and power in our lives...How? Through an unveiling of our hearts so we can see how God's Word is meant to work in our lives and in the lives of those we pray for.
This reminds me of, "Open our eyes that we might see." Sound familiar? I pray this often for my Morning Glory readers, but now I have a visual for this powerful prayer. I can see a heart covered - concealed - blinded - by a veil that casts it into confusion and darkness because it cannot receive and understand the Lord's guidance and instruction. Perhaps the veil occurred because of stress, worry, anxiety or depression. Maybe anger, heartbreak or disappointment. Whatever the cause, the veiled heart cannot see the Lord's footsteps or hear His gentle voice and therefore it is difficult to walk in faith. But when the power of prayer removes the veil, wisdom and revelation and insight will follow.
Want to know what else follows a veil being removed through prayer? The child of God begins to realize the "exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe."
Yes, the child of God begins to truly know God and the very essence of Who He is.
Father, this is glorious. Thank You for prompting Judy to share this scripture with me. I love the image of the veiled heart. This happens so easily to us, yet it blinds and confuses us as we seek to walk in Your ways. Remind us as we pray that it all begins with the heart condition. When the heart condition is right before You, when the veil is removed, we become enlightened with wisdom, revelation and insight. Help us to remember this, Lord. Thank You.
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