Read Ephesians 1:15-17
“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. I keep asking that…, so that you may know him better.” (15-17a)
Some Thoughts…
I am intrigued by this prayer that Paul prays for the Ephesian Christians. It almost appears to me to be a prayer that he prays from a Pastor’s heart for all the people whom God had led him to shepherd and teach. But before I think too much about “WHAT” Paul prayed, I don’t need to miss the “WHY” of his prayer. “For this reason…”, a phrase which is tied to the previous verses (v 13-14) talking about how these Gentiles were added to God’s family. They heard and believed and were adopted by God’s foreknowledge and grace…but the reason is found in their faith that expresses itself through love. And it is for that reason Paul prays for them…because they believed and committed themselves to Christ’s body.
But what grabs my attention, as a minister of the Gospel, is Paul’s commitment to intercede for these people. He “keeps asking” and he writes that he “had not stopped” praying (v 16). Paul had fallen in love with the object of God’s divine affections, and his thoughts were filled with them and he prayed for the Saints continuously that they would know God better than they know Him now (v 17). The verses that follow help me see how to know Him better, but I want to linger here a little while…in love with God’s diverse people…. never ceasing to pray that they (that we) would know Him better.
A Prayer…
Father, names and faces flood my mind…. people with kind hearts and great zeal for you, people who have shown me love, people who live out sacrificial love better than I ever could. And, I want to pray for them like Paul…I no longer want to forget. Please help us, Your Saints, to know you better. Amen.