My Prayer for You

Today’s Bible Reading:  Proverbs 30-31; Psalm 33; Ephesians 1

Journal Entry on a passage from today’s reading:

Topic: Revelation

SCRIPTURE:  Ephesians 1:17-18

¹⁷ I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of revelation, so that you may know him better. ¹⁸ I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. (Eph 1:17-18 NIV)

OBSERVATION:

More and more in my teaching and preaching as a minister called by the Lord, my message to believers in and followers of Christ (the saints) has been that first and foremost God wants relationship with us. More important is this than a call to arms, or the urging to go out and fulfill His command to be witnesses—to get out there and do for the Lord. The major thrust of the evangelical church has been to get people saved and then get them out there leading others to salvation with only a minor emphasis on these new born babes in Christ building a deeper relationship with God through their Savior. Maybe it has been assumed that as people receive the gift of salvation and begin serving the Lord, relationship will naturally grow. This may be true for some, but for many the pressure to perform and the hidden guilt experienced from what is felt as a lack of performance on their part actually stifles growth. What is it that God wants? He sacrificed His one and only Son to provide the means by which we may be brought back into right relationship with Him—a loving, growing, personal kinship with each individual man, woman, boy and girl. It is within this growing relationship that God’s plan for each individual is revealed.    

APPLICATION:

My prayer is that individual people will come to know God so intimately as to be able to discern His revelation to them personally about His plan, purpose and calling for their lives. It is when people know where they fit and begin to fulfill the calling for which the Creator has created them, that they may realize the greatest satisfaction and joy in life, and God’s kingdom is built naturally. This is how my calling to equip the saints (Eph 4:12) is fulfilled.        

PRAYER:

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.

Through your personal relationship with God in Christ. Amen.  -AP