17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and 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, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms... Ephesians1:17-20
In typical complex and compound sentences, Paul is praying for the Ephesian Church. The bottom line of his prayer is:
"That you will know God better."
But Paul expands on that: There are some core truths that we need to know deep inside - he wants the "eyes of our hearts enlightened" so that we will know:
1. The HOPE God has called us to. No matter how tough things may seem, we have hope - God is still in control and that hope can be our calm in the storm.
2. The glorious INHERITANCE we have in the saints. This is not only the hope of heaven, but the fact that we are part of the family of God right now.
3. The incomparable POWER at work in us who believe. We are not left to struggle on our own. The power that raised Jesus from the dead - the power of God's Holy Spirit - is at work in you and me. This power is able to help us overcome temptation, to carry us through tough trials and to help us make an impact in our world.
So why don't we see this power at work?
* Because many of us are too proud or stubborn to ask
* Because we have let sin and laziness sideline us
* Because we misunderstand the nature of God's power.
God's power is not like Asterix and Obelix's magic potion, it's not impersonal - it flows from our relationship with God. Look at Paul's prayer: Knowing God better and experiencing His power are interconnected: two sides of one coin.
Are the eyes of your heart open?
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
