Ephesians Day 15
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.
Ephesians 1:17
One of the realities of being a Pastor is that you share a lot of people's burdens. This isn’t a complaint, it’s just a reality. And my personality + my sin (I’m tempted to be the saviour) leads me to desire above all else a solution to their situation.
This desire often shapes my prayer life. I pray for God to fix their problem. Or to show me how to fix the problem.
The Ephesian Church had a bunch of stuff going on. They lived in a city that worshipped a goddess called Artemis. The people were generally hostile to Christians. Sometimes violently so. That’s not an easy situation to live and practise your faith in.
But Paul doesn’t pray that God would fix their situation. He prays for what they actually need most. And that is that God’s people would know Him better.
You see, when we know God better. When we see Him more clearly. That’s when we can not only endure every situation, but have joy and hope in the midst of them. When we know God better, we know His love more, we know His goodness more, we know His grace and kindness toward us more. We see how good are His purposes and so we can rejoice even if God doesn’t fix our situation.
Christian, is there someone you need to pray for today? Yes, you can still pray that God would deliver them from whatever plagues and burdens. But above all, pray that they would know God better.
For Today:
Pray:
Praise the Father that in Him we can find all we need. Give thanks for Jesus who delivers us from our greatest problem of sin and death. Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others know Him better.
Ephesians 1:17
One of the realities of being a Pastor is that you share a lot of people's burdens. This isn’t a complaint, it’s just a reality. And my personality + my sin (I’m tempted to be the saviour) leads me to desire above all else a solution to their situation.
This desire often shapes my prayer life. I pray for God to fix their problem. Or to show me how to fix the problem.
The Ephesian Church had a bunch of stuff going on. They lived in a city that worshipped a goddess called Artemis. The people were generally hostile to Christians. Sometimes violently so. That’s not an easy situation to live and practise your faith in.
But Paul doesn’t pray that God would fix their situation. He prays for what they actually need most. And that is that God’s people would know Him better.
You see, when we know God better. When we see Him more clearly. That’s when we can not only endure every situation, but have joy and hope in the midst of them. When we know God better, we know His love more, we know His goodness more, we know His grace and kindness toward us more. We see how good are His purposes and so we can rejoice even if God doesn’t fix our situation.
Christian, is there someone you need to pray for today? Yes, you can still pray that God would deliver them from whatever plagues and burdens. But above all, pray that they would know God better.
For Today:
- How do you respond to people's problems?
- Do you notice your desires shape your prayers?
- Who do you need to pray for today?
Pray:
Praise the Father that in Him we can find all we need. Give thanks for Jesus who delivers us from our greatest problem of sin and death. Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others know Him better.
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