Title: Paul's Prayer/Ephesians 1:17-19
Contents Bible; Ephesians 1:17-19
Title: Paul's Prayer
Ephesians 1:17 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
give you the spirit of revelation that you may know God
Ephesians 1:18 Open your hearts and your eyes, what is the hope of his calling,
What is the riches of the glory of the inheritance in
Ephesians 1:19 His bestowal on us who believe, according to the mighty work of His might.
I ask you to make known what is the exceeding greatness of power.
Today's reading is Paul's prayer in chapter 1.
When we think about prayer, we can talk about the prayer the Lord first said and the Lord's prayer that He taught us to pray like this.
One of the many things Jesus did during his public life was to pray. To accomplish God's will, He prayed for us by redeeming us from our sins, for His disciples, and for Himself. He taught us how to pray, emphasizing that we should pray and telling us to pray like this.
In today's text, the apostle Paul is praying to the God of glory for the Ephesian church members.
The content of the prayer is to first give the Ephesian church the spirit of wisdom and revelation.
17 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
give you the spirit of revelation that you may know God
“The word Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation refers to the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation.
The word “Spirit of Wisdom” expresses the characteristics of the Holy Spirit.
Wisdom means discernment, insight, understanding, etc., and means to discern and realize the will of God.
Wisdom is the ability to discern good from evil, and to know what to do and what not to do.
What does God want us to do where we live and where we are active today? Insight is knowing what you want to do through me.
At home, at work, at school, at church, at church, at Sunday School, at Women’s Evangelism, in the district, at the choir, in any department, it is wisdom to discern what we should and should not do. And it's called incarnation.
Because the Holy Spirit does these things, Paul is praying to the God of glory. O God of glory./ Give the saints of Ephesus the Holy Spirit of wisdom./
Why does Paul pray for the Spirit of Wisdom?
Because this Spirit of Wisdom leads us to the fear of God.
Psalm 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; he who keeps his commandments
All have good understanding; the praise of the LORD endures forever.
Isa 11:2 The god of the LORD, the god of wisdom and understanding, the god of counsel and might,
The god of knowledge and the fear of the LORD will descend upon him.
I pray for the Holy Spirit of wisdom and revelation.
Reveal means to reveal hidden secrets.
God's revelation in the Bible is generally expressed in two ways.
Natural revelation and special revelation.
Natural revelation is the revelation of God through the heavens, the earth, and all things God created.
The special revelation refers to the revelation of God to us in a special way, not in a natural way, such as the 10 plagues in Egypt and the miracle of the Red Sea.
The words of the Bible are special revelations, and Jesus Christ, who came to this earth in the form of a human being, is also a special revelation.
Paul is praying that the hidden spiritual graces of heaven will be revealed to the Ephesian church members. We are praying for spiritual blessings.
2. Pray to get to know God.
Paul prays that God will give the Ephesian church members the Holy Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that they can know God rightly.
The word to know means to know, to know accurately and correctly.
It refers to the knowledge of the blessings that God always gives us and the knowledge of God's will for us.
The way for us to know God and to know God's will must be revealed by God and the Holy Spirit giving us wisdom.
The reason Paul prays like this is because we rely on, trust, and believe in God as much as we know God.
Knowing and not knowing God has tremendous consequences.
The prophet Hosea says:
Hosea 4: 1 Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel;
He argues with the inhabitants; there is no truth or mercy in this land.
There is no knowledge of God....(6) My people perish for lack of knowledge.
Hos 6:6 I desire mercy, not sacrifice, prefer God over burnt offerings.
want to know
To whom does God give the Spirit of Wisdom and reveal hidden spiritual graces and truths?
Psalm 107:9 “He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry with good things.”
God said this through the prophet Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 29:12 You call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will hear you.
that
Jeremiah 29:13 If you seek me and seek me with all your heart, you will find me.
Just as Paul prayed for the Ephesian church members, I pray that all the members who came to worship at this time today will come to know the God of glory.
3. We pray that the eyes of the hearts of the members of the Ephesian Church will be opened.
The Bible says that the heart is the guide of perception, faith, speech and action.
Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart above all else, for the fountain of life is
I am left out of this .
You must not become a blind saint with a blind eye. The eyes of your heart must be opened and you must see what is in your heart and what you long for.
Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew in me an upright spirit.
Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God
concluding remarks
17 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
give you the spirit of revelation that you may know God
Ephesians 1:18 Open your hearts and your eyes, what is the hope of his calling,
What is the riches of the glory of the inheritance in
Ephesians 1:19 His bestowal on us who believe, according to the mighty work of His might.
I ask you to make known what is the exceeding greatness of power.
Paul prays that the God of glory will give the Ephesian church members the Holy Spirit and revelation of wisdom so that they may know God and open the eyes of their hearts.
So, I want to give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation at this time just as Paul prayed. So, knowing that God is God, our eyes are opened, so what is the hope of the calling God has called us and what is the inheritance in the saints? I pray that you will come to know what is the riches of the glory of God and the exceeding greatness of His power to us who believe as He works with the mighty power of His power.