“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the Saints…” Ephesians 1.18
What do you pray for when you pray? For the safety of your family? For your sports team? For more money? For the lost? I think that our prayers often reveal the things we care most about. Listen to a person pray in their private life and you will have a good idea of what is most important to them.
Isn’t it fascinating how Paul prays for the Ephesian Church in Ephesians Chapter One? He does not (at least primarily) pray for their physical health or safety in of Rome. He does not pray that they would find a new Church building or that someone would donate money for better seats. He does not even pray that the Church would grow and that there would be a revival in Ephesus. He simply prays that the Ephesians might know God more intimately. Paul writes, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened…”
Much like today, in the ancient world the heart referred to the center of all of your emotions, feelings and understanding while the eyes referred to the gates that allow light in. The spiritual significance of having the eyes of your heart opened was to receive insight and revelation from God. Paul prays that the Ephesians would receive from God a new insight in order that they might know “the hope of His calling,” “the riches of the glory of His inheritance” and “His surpassing power toward believers.” In summary, He prays that the Ephesians would have a greater and more intimate knowledge of the hope, goodness and power of God toward them.
The question is, do your prayers sound at all like Paul’s? If someone heard you praying would they be convinced that a growing, thriving relationship with God is your priority or that it is has become secondary to health, wealth, safety, security and other lesser things. According to Paul, the greatest need for the Ephesian Church was to know Christ more, and that became the prayer of his heart. I suspect that if he were praying for us today that we would hear the same prayer.
Challenge
- What do you pray for when you pray?
- In what ways do your prayers need to grow and change? How can they mirror Paul’s?
- Take time to pray today, especially for your local church, that all may have the eyes of their heart enlightened…
Challenge:
- What do you pray for when you pray?
- In what ways do your prayers need to grow and change? How can they mirror Paul’s?
- Take time to pray today, especially for your local church, that all may have the eyes of their heart enlightened…
By Ryley Heppner| British Columbia