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 NIV
I believe Paul’s prayer for his Ephesians friends is one of the profoundly helpful prayers that we as Jesus followers can pray for ourselves and each other. It’s not a prayer he prayed one time – he says he “keeps asking,” knowing this is a need that will never be fully satisfied as long as we are on this planet. He identifies God clearly so that there can be no mistaking this as a generic, spiritual prayer – “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father.” Jesus and the Father are in agreement for us.
Paul asks God to give Jesus followers the “Spirit” of wisdom and revelation. Notice the capital S. This is not just a “happy spirit” or a “sweet spirit,” such as we may say to escribe a person’s attitude. Paul is asking God to work through the gift of the Holy Spirit to give us God-only abilities and insight. He involves the Father, the Son, and the Spirit in this prayer. This is truly the will of God for us.
He requests that God give us the Holy Spirit, the Source of true wisdom and revelation in every season and every situation. This is incredible! It’s better than intelligence, much better than knowledge. Knowledge is simply knowing facts. But wisdom brings knowledge to life and positive action in real time. Wisdom enables us to know what to do with knowledge, the right time and way to do it. Revelation enables us to identify our motives and reasons for our actions, and this wisdom and revelation prepares us to live like Jesus in this world.
This is true discernment. And what is the reason God gives us this wonderful ability as we work with Him? So that we “may know HIM better.” Discernment is not an end in itself. It is not given to us to make us smarter than anyone else, better than anyone else, or able to do life on our own. It is all intended to help us know God better, follow Jesus more closely, and trust the Holy Spirit’s guidance more readily and fully.
This prayer is so profound and valuable because the reality is that we come into this world of spiritual darkness alienated from the Source of Life and Truth. We are confused about Him. We don’t naturally know God the way we need to know Him. Though the knowledge of God is the most important knowledge there is, we don’t naturally know Him. When we don’t know Him, we don’t know truth. Since it is the truth that sets us free, the less we know God, the more we live in darkness. We won’t get life right. We need wisdom and revelation, an Only God gift.
- Father, may Paul’s prayer be answered daily in my life.