DAY 3
Pray for the Spirit's help
‘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
Today we come to the heart of Paul’s prayer in chapter 1, which is a prayer for spiritual illumination. He doesn’t need to pray for the believers to be blessed – they already are, beyond measure (see Ephesians 1:3-14). Instead, he prays that God will give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so their hearts may be ‘enlightened,’ enabling them to know Him better and see how blessed they really are.
When Paul refers to our need to ‘know [God] better,’ he writes from a Hebrew worldview, where ‘knowledge’ is not primarily about intellectual understanding but is much more personal and intimate. For us to know God in this way, we need the Spirit’s help. In 1 Corinthians, Paul puts this even more clearly: ‘What no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived – the things God has prepared for those who love him – these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God? What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.’ 1 Corinthians 2:9-12
There’s so much that could be said about this wonderful passage. Put simply, Paul is saying that we can’t know God or what He has prepared for us through our natural senses, but we can know Him through the revelation that His Spirit brings us. We can see through the Spirit’s illumination.
DEVOTIONAL
by Ru Cullen
QUOTABLE QUOTE
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.”
– Helen Keller - author and advocate for the deaf and blind
Prayer points
- Take some time to come before the Lord privately, personally, and intimately. As we come as we are, let’s surrender again to the Holy Spirit, asking Him to clear our hearts, minds, and souls from all distractions that would limit what He wants to share.
- Following Paul’s example, pray this prayer over ourselves and our church family: that the Father would give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we may know Him better.
- Declare over our church greater levels of intimacy and devotion to God. Pray that we would be a family who lingers in the presence of our Father, growing in understanding His heart and thoughts about us and our world.