These are some notes I have taken in my walk through Ephesians 1. This part of Ephesians has always helped me focus in prayer.
If you need to pray for people and don’t know what to pray ABOUT… pray the prayers of Paul. We may not know a “need” in their life, but we do know THE need. This is the need for all of us: TO KNOW GOD.
— Give thanks for them. Whoever you are praying for… give thanks for them. Always give thanks for the saints. The ones that bring fondness to your mind… and the ones that bring frustration as well. GIVE THANKS FOR THEM.
— Ask for the spirit of wisdom and revelation TO KNOW GOD. The greatest prayer we can pray is for saints to KNOW GOD. We can pray this over our own lives. Every day, may we ask the Lord for that wisdom and revelation. “Lord, today I want to know you more. I want to know you in a deeper way. Teach me more about the Kingdom.”
It takes wisdom and revelation from above. We are incapable of knowing God on our own. Thankfully, God is anxious for us to KNOW HIM
— Ask for OVERFLOW in their lives. We need eyes to see. I need eyes to see. I settle for so little!
Maybe I pray for healing in someone’s life and they are healed. Then, another time I pray and nothing happens. I go on. When healing does happen, I can be in awe of the Spirit. I can be in awe of what God does… but do I understand, TRULY understand, this only scratches the surface?
We have an inheritance. It’s not an inheritance for when someone dies, because God won’t die. (Neither will we.) This inheritance is for NOW.
Pray for OVERFLOW in the lives of others. Pray for OVERFLOW in your own life. Ask for eyes to see because we truly can NOT see.
Dallas Willard has been my hero for many years. He passed away a few years ago, but his work lives on. When I remember hearing Dallas speak or read his words now, I think, “What did this man SEE? What did he KNOW?” I asked that because he writes in a way that demonstrates something experienced… something gained… that I simply have not grasped yet.
When I read Paul’s words in some passages… like this one… I get aggravated. In my spirit I scream, “Paul! What did you SEE?”
This writing comes on October 15, 2018. Eugene Peterson has been entered into hospice care. He is not long for this earth, but he SEES what is ahead. He has SEEN it for years. He knows that inheritance. He has LIVED in that inheritance.
Pray for OVERFLOW. Lord, let us SEE our inheritance. Let us know the God of resurrection power! The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us. Help me understand that power. Not for the “miraculous”, but for LIVING. Not just to pray for healing, but live with FRUIT. The authority given to Christ has been given to the CHURCH. Let us SEE that power. Let us SEE that authority. Let us UNDERSTAND that incredible walk!
Let’s not look at what miserable things we’ve settled for, but let’s press on to understand the inheritance we have in Christ because of God’s lavish love!
Give thanks.
Ask for revelation to know God.
Pray for overflowing abundance.
Apprentice 2 Jesus 