Ephesians 1: “15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, 16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; 17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: 22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.”
God’s prayer request—huh? His is different than ours. We ask things of God, and we can work with his help. God’s request to us is not anything for himself. He doesn’t need us in that way. He wants us to comprehend the potential of the unlimited God when we pray. We have so many requests. Which do we feel is more urgent? Which would we desire to be answered more? Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians lets us know that if this one request from God would be done, it would take care of all the rest. If we comprehend God, we will have no stonewalls, no limitations.
What is the request of the Lord?
First, he wants us to understand his word. He wants us to know him. What we need for this moment is the understanding of what God has already told us. We fail to see it. The answers are there, but we’ve not taken time to read the word. When we understand all this, our requests can be more focused. Think this before we make any other request to God. “Help me know what is in your word and give me the wisdom to apply it on a personal level.” We get to know someone by interacting with him. The more we talk, the more we understand. Verse 18 says this comprehension will enlighten our eyes of understanding. These are dark times. It can cloud our soul. It can get us down. God’s voice can speak through that and enlighten us. We can read and understand. We can know “what is the hope of his calling.” There is no guess work. We don’t have a blind faith. We responded. Regardless of what God called it, what brings us down doesn’t bring God down. Verse 22 says all things are under his feet. Remember our kingdom is not of this world. We called upon the Lord, and we belong to him.
Second, he wants us to know “what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.” We were not saved and brought this far to be led off a cliff. Jesus has never failed to deliver us. The best is yet to come. We can know the hope of his calling and the riches of his glory.
Third, we can know “what is the exceeding greatness of is power.” We pray like God didn’t hear us. We try to make sure he did either by our hesitance or our over doing. We can ask in the recognition of the power that works in us. We need a comprehension of who he is and what he can do. God can fix anything. Chapter 3 says he “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” When we grasp this, we know all things work out well. Before we ask him, he asks us to recognize his power and his deity. Nothing can stop us. We approach God timidly. We’re uncertain he can do what we ask. We can never strain his resources. What is big in our eyes is not big in his. What strains us doesn’t strain him. We won’t wear him out. God is that much God.
We can know what the hope of the calling is, what the riches of his inheritance are, and what the exceeding greatness of his power is when we trust in him. Whatever our request might be, it will never exceed God’s ability to answer. Before we ask for our own requests, let’s honor His.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 