Can I pray for you in any way?
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
Ephesians 1:15-16
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Prayer is critical to our spiritual health as it is the mechanism we have to communicate with the Lord God Almighty, the Maker and Master of all living things. In fact, it was the first form of wireless communication long before the advent of the cell phone.
Prayer can come in a lot of different forms and we will look a couple of different types in the next few lessons drawn from the latter verses of Ephesians 1. Look at these words again as we examine the first thing we can pray for as we come before God:
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. Ephesians 1:15-16
Here we find the Apostle Paul lifting up prayers of thanksgiving for the Ephesian believers, his brothers and sisters in Christ.
What were the Christians in Ephesus doing that sparked Paul’s attitude of gratitude?
He mentions two specific things.
First, they had shown faith in Jesus.
Now, you might say to yourself, “Duh. They are Christians. Of course they would have faith in Jesus” but think about it. How many people do you know that refer to themselves as Christians but they live a faithless life? Sadly, there are more people that do this than we are willing to admit, I’m afraid.
This is why we need to celebrate faith when we see it being carried out. We should rejoice in the steadfast trust invested in Jesus when we see people exercise it because that’s what living in and for Him is all about.
Paul testifies that the displayed faith of the Ephesians led to his unceasing prayers of appreciation for them. As we consider people we know and witness them being strong in their faith, we should follow the Apostle’s lead.
The second thing we find Paul expressing gratefulness for is the love extended to other people by the Ephesian believers.
As I read these words, I was reminded about that classic worship song that says people will know we are Christians by our love. In other words, there is perhaps no greater way we can let other know we are living in and for Jesus than letting them see His love extended from us. Led by the Holy Spirit, Christ believers can be assured they will do just that.
It’s obvious the church in Ephesus was lovingly serving their community and note that this wasn’t selective. They weren’t picking and choosing who they loved. Rather, the scriptures tell us they loved all of God’s people and again, this brought Paul to a place of gladness and thanks.
Question: How well do we do when it comes to loving all of God’s people?
If we’re honest about it, I think we too often fall short here and this is what amplifies what the Ephesian Christians had accomplished. It’s no wonder why Paul decided to make a big deal about in his letter.
In closing, who do you know who routinely exercises faith in Jesus and, as a result, shows love to all people?
Bring those people to mind by name and then go to prayer, giving thanks for them as you come before the Lord God Almighty.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at a different type of prayer, a prayer of intercession.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com
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