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.
I pray 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 His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe.
Ephesians 1:18-19a
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Have you ever petitioned for something?
I think we all have in life.
Petition seems to be a big word that many people might have a hard time defining if asked but at its root it is a very simplistic process grounded in requesting something, for yourself or for someone or something else.
When people want to ask for a change in policy, they often will put together a petition and ask for people to sign it. Getting a large number of signatures is meant to serve that there is public support behind the request for change.
On my Facebook page, I often see people sharing a Go Fund Me page for someone in need. These postings are a form of petition for another person, shared with friends to hopefully drum up financial support.
In my line of work in assisting Veterans and their family members with obtaining benefits, I have experienced people who have asked their elected officials to get involved in helping them resolve an issue. At their core, these petitions, referred to as Congressionals, are requests for assistance from people who carry a lot of power and influence.
Over the past two messages, we have found the Apostle Paul speaking about prayers he was offering for the Ephesian Christians.
First, he speaks about giving thanks for the faith and the love displayed by the believers in Ephesus.
Next, he intercedes for the Ephesian Jesus followers, praying for God to give them a Spirit of wisdom and revelation to that they might know Him better.
In our final message in this series today, we find Paul making a request to God on behalf of his brother and sister Christians in Ephesus. Look again at his words here:
I pray 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 His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. Ephesians 1:18-19a
Here we find Paul making a petition to God through prayer, asking for two things to be granted to the Ephesian Christians.
1. He asked that their hearts might be enlightened.
This is a call for understanding which is fundamentally at the root of any enlightenment. Think about the word epiphany, an “aha” moment which is often jokingly compared to a light bulb coming on, therefore the “light” part of enlightenment. Paul wanted God to make this happen in the hearts of the believers in Ephesus.
Then we find Paul putting some definition into what he wished the Ephesian Christians to be enlightened about.
2. He wanted them to know the hope God had called then to through His Son Jesus.
It was God who so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son to save it. Anyone who believed this would not perish but have everlasting life.
This was the Gospel Paul preached as he planted churches all over Asia and Europe during his four missionary journeys and he petitioned for God to make sure that the Christians in Ephesus knew that this salvation blessing they had received was through His incomparable power. No one else possessed the might to save all humanity except the One who created it.
Paul also asked for God to help the Ephesian Christians to never forget that they had been called by Him to believe in Jesus, His Son, so that they might comprehend and appreciate the great inheritance they had received, the inheritance of eternal life only reserved for God’s holy people.
Friends, as we are praying for one another and others, we should mimic this prayer of Paul. We should be ever petitioning God that the hearts of people would be enlightened to where they realize and acknowledge God’s infinite greatness and how He used this greatness to bring salvation to the lost sinners of the world He made. We should further request that God help others realize that a rich inheritance, the richest inheritance possible, would come with the choice to believe in Jesus as Savior.
This final prayer of the Apostle was one based on petition and the desire to want everyone to experience the gift of eternal life offered by God through His Son. Perhaps there could be no greater request we could make on any one day than this as we lift up others to the Lord, knowing He always hears us when we speak to Him and possesses the ability to do any and all things.
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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