When someone asks you to pray for them, what do you pray?
“Lord bless Brother Joe, Lord bless Sister Susie?
Do you stumble around, or have a loss of words to pray?
Do you have a clue as to what is going on in their lives that need prayer?
I have come across four prayers in the New Testament, two in Ephesians, one in Colossians, and one in Philippians that can revolutionize your prayer life.
Not only can you pray these prayers for others, you can pray them over your life.
We will do a study of each of the four prayers in the New Testament that can be a creative approach to your prayer life.
In my own life, I pray them over my life every day, and I also pray them over members of my church and other brothers and sisters in the Lord that I know.
In praying these prayers, you are praying the Word of God.
Isaiah 55:9-11 says that the Word (the rhema of God) that goes forth out of His mouth does not return to Him void, but will accomplish what the Word was sent out to do.
By speaking the Word of God over people, you are prophesying over their lives, and when you pray these passages of Scripture over yourself, you are prophesying over your life. You are also speaking a blessing over them and over your self.
We are going to look at each of these four passages of Scripture and dig into them and find out what we are praying.
Our first passage of Scripture is found in Ephesians 1:16-19:
“For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you, and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might.”
‘For his reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, the people of God, I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. For I always pray to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation, of insight into mysteries and secrets in the deep and intimate knowledge of Him. By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich in His glorious inheritance in the saints, His set apart ones. And so that you can know and understand what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places.” (The Amplified Bible)
Paul prayed 2 things in this prayer:
ONE: “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.”
TWO: “That the eyes of your heart may be (being) enlightened to know 3 things:
1. “What is the hope of His calling.”
2. “What are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.”
3. “What is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.”
So let’s dissect this passage and find out what exactly Paul is praying for the Ephesians.
Believers have already been sealed in the Holy Spirit at the time of their conversion.
This prayer, therefore, is not for the Holy Spirit Himself, but for a spirit of wisdom and revelation, which is a special gift, manifestation, or application of the Holy Spirit.
The Amplified Bible reads “ For I always pray to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation (of insight into mysteries and secrets) in the (deep and intimate) knowledge of Him.”
He prays that the Holy Spirit will give them a spirit of comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of Jesus and of insight into the mysteries and secrets in the deep and intimate knowledge of Him.
The first request in this prayer is that God will give believers the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know Him better.
It is a knowing that has to come by revelation, and not head knowledge.
You can know about someone, but never really know him or her until they reveal things about themselves. Only the person can reveal things about himself, and when he does, you come to know that person in a different way. You can know about Jesus, and not really know Him. Until He reveals Himself to you, you will not have an intimate knowledge about Him. You will only have head knowledge about Him.
There is an interesting passage in Psalm 103:7 that says God made known His ways to Moses, and His deeds to the people of Israel. Moses had an intimate knowledge of God. He understood God’s ways of doing things. He had a revelation of God. When you understand the ways of God, it makes is easier to go through tests and trials because you understand His ways of doing things. As you seek Him, He will reveal more of Himself to you. I would rather want to know the ways of God. When you know His ways, you will experience His mighty deeds.
In Colossians 1:9 Paul prays, “ that you may be filled with the (deep and clear) knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom (in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God) and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things. (Amplified Bible)
Wisdom is far more than just having a lot of information stuffed in your head.
It is the divine ability of God to correctly use the knowledge that you have.
I like what the Amplified Bible calls wisdom, “comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God.”
Colossians 2:3 says that in Christ is hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. If Christ is in you, then where are the treasures of wisdom and knowledge?
IN YOU. You have to learn how to tap into it. It’s like an underground river.
I read a story about farmer that lived in the Texas panhandle, which is an area like a desert. Farming was extremely hard to do because of the lack of water. This farmer had a son who went off to college and majored in geology. When he came back home he told his father that there was an underground river right beneath his property. Sure enough, when they drilled down, they tapped into that river and his crops were the only ones that flourished in that area.
The same is true for us. We have to tap into the river of God’s wisdom that is in us.
We also have the Holy Spirit to reveal the wisdom we need. We have the gift of Someone who knows everything, who can reveal, guide, and lead us into all truth and the wisdom of God living right inside of us. All you have to do is ask.
James 1:5-6 tells us that if we lack wisdom in a situation, we are to ask God for His wisdom and He will liberally give it to us.
We have to pray long enough in the Spirit until we tap into the well of wisdom that is in us. I asked the Lord one time how long do I have to pray. His reply was, “until you get the answer.”
I have listened to a series of tapes by a well known minister titled, Wisdom, the Principle Thing. It has revolutionized the way I pray. I used to pray what I call shotgun prayers. You shoot a bunch of prayers up to heaven and hope God answers one of them. I just said of bunch of words that seemed to be praying. After I listened to these tapes, and read a book by Dutch Sheets, titled, “Intercessory Prayer” my prayer life changed. I now first seek God’s wisdom in the situation, and listen for Him to tell me how to pray for the situation, and give me understanding and insight as to what is really going on. Now, I do not say a lot, but I listen for the Holy Spirit to direct my prayer, and pray in the Spirit. I also put on worship music to create the atmosphere of worship. When I hear from the Holy Spirit, I pray the way He tells me to.
The Lord gave me an illustration that will help you. If you take a coin, and only look at one side of it, that is all you can see. You cannot see the other side. However, God can see both sides of the coin, and if you will seek His wisdom, He will show you the side you cannot see and the solution.
If you will seek God’s wisdom in praying for people, whether it be for salvation, or tests and trials they are going through, or for whatever reason, not only will you get insight into their lives, but God will show you how to pray for them that will get results.
When you seek God’s wisdom, you will come to know Him better because you know His ways.
Read and meditate on Proverbs 4.
So in this first part, Paul is praying for the Ephesians to receive:
1. Wisdom, comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of Jesus.
2. Revelation, insight into mysteries and secrets in the deep intimate knowledge of Him, or revelation knowledge of Him.
Next Paul prays “that the eyes of your heart may be (being) enlightened”
This illumination takes place, literally, in the “eyes of your heart.”
In biblical language, the “heart” is a comprehensive term used for the entire inward self or personality of an individual, including intellect, will, and emotions.
Being enlightened by the light of God’s truth affects one’s entire inward being.
I like what it says in The Amplified Bible, “being flooded with light.”
It’s like going into a dark room where you can’t see a thing, and then you turn the light switch on and the room is flooded with light. You can see.
Before you were born again, your spirit was in darkness. When you got born again, your spirit got flooded with light, the light of the Word. We have all used the expression at some point in time, “I’ve seen the light.”
The word for enlightened in the Greek is a perfect passive participle that denotes completed action, a present state that has resulted from past action.
The tense of the verb here prohibits taking “enlightenment” in a progressive sense, that is, as becoming more and more enlightened.
In the NT the verb “photizein” (“to give light, “to illuminate”) and the noun “photismos”(“enlightenment,” “illumination”) are used to express the results of spiritual encounter.
Illumination comes through the reception of the gospel.
Illumination comes through the reception of the Word!
Psalm 119:130 says “the unfolding (the entrance) of Your Word gives light, it gives understanding to the simple.”
Psalm 119: 105 say, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light to my path.”
Darkness can also refer to ignorance. We have used the expression, “I am in the dark” when we do know something. Light can also refer to understanding. When we have been ignorant of something and then get an understanding of it, we say, “I have seen the light.” Revelation brings understanding, especially of spiritual things.
You cannot understand the Bible with your natural mind. It takes a revelation from God for you to understand it. That is why He sent the Holy Spirit, to reveal the Word of God to you. It takes a revelation from God for you to understand Him, His ways, and all that He has for you. It also renews your mind. You get a revelation by meditating on the Word.
There are three things in this passage of Scripture to know:
ONE: What is the hope of His calling.
Hope in this verse (Greek word “elpsi”) is not some wishy-washy “hope so” desire, but a firm expectation, “the looking forward to something with some reason for confidence respecting fulfillment, hope, expectation.”
This is eager watchfulness.
We can become bored, lazy, hopeless, and listless.
I hope to be going to the Philippines. This is not some pie in the sky wish. It is a strong expectation that I will be going.
I like what Hebrews 11:1 says in the Amplified Bible: “Now faith is the assurance, the confirmation, the title deed of the things we “hope for,” being the proof of things we do not see and the conviction of their reality, faith, perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses.”
Your faith has to have something to hold on to. This is where hope comes in. Whatever you are hoping for must have faith to help it come to pass. In hoping to go to the Philippines, I keep my hope alive by going on the Internet and finding out all I can about the country, the people, the culture, and I even keep checking the Internet for current events in the Philippines. I am looking for a wall of map of the Philippines. What am I doing? I am keeping my faith alive by feeding my hope. I have an expectation of going there.
I am feeding my hope on some other things as well. All of these things will come to pass. When you can see your hope on the inside of you, it will grow and eventually come to pass. You start imaging what it would be like for your hope to come to pass. That is why God gave you an imagination, to give birth to and nurture your hope. This works both for godly things and ungodly things. In ungodly things, it creates darkness in your spirit and will choke the light that is in you.
NO HOPE NO FAITH.
Jesus Christ is the “hope of glory” for us. (Colossians 1:27b)
Christ’s return is our “blessed hope.” (Titus 2:13)
Jesus provides the expectation that He will work through our prayers and our hands.
Jesus Christ provides the hope that motivates us that the future with Him will be better.
We have been called to a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)
It is our calling to look forward, to anticipate, even to hasten Christ’s coming in power and in glory. (II Peter 3:12)
Paul prays for our hope to expand and embrace a big future, rather than shrivel in pain, bitterness, and discouragement or die in a parched desert of spiritual starvation.
To a grand view of our future in Jesus Christ we have been called, brothers and sisters.
Our hope when we catch this view is truly glorious.
TWO: What are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.
What is an inheritance?
It consists of the carefully accumulated possessions of another, set aside and preserved to pass on to one’s heirs.
Ours is a “glorious inheritance,” Paul says, an inheritance which is attend by glory, which consists of glory in His presence, and which make us rich beyond all comparison.
We are to comprehend the degree of the riches of His inheritance.
The Greek word, “ploutos,” means, “wealth, abundance, plentiful supply.”
It is not meager but abundant, overflowing, beyond counting.
We live lives of struggle and hurt, of love and of reaching out, but we fall so short.
Paul prays that we will be able to comprehend that we have ahead of us a reward above all measure, a precious redemption purchased at great cost by our Brother, Jesus Christ.
Someone described GRACE as an acronym: “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.”
It is an inheritance, but more than that, it is an inheritance “in the saints.”
Ours is not a solo award, but one we will share forever and even with all God’s people, living and dead.
Oh, don’t worry, there is plenty for all.
But it is shared with the family.
Sometimes we are tempted to isolate ourselves from others.
We have suffered too much rejection, we have some “history” that makes us love-shy, and so we practice our own form of hermit Christianity.
But our inheritance is “in the saints,’ as part of a corporate body.
THIRDLY: “What is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.”
The Greek preposition “eis” often carries a sense of motion, “into, in, toward, to,” and sometimes as a marker of goals.
The use here could carry the idea of power directed:
1. “into us, ”toward us”
2. “for our benefit”
While it is difficult to say which it is precisely the idea is still wonderful.
In this case, God’s immeasurable power is into and unto us believers.
It is “incomparably great,” a pair of Greek words.
HUPERBALLO: means “to attain a degree that extraordinary exceeds point on a scale of extent, go beyond, surpass, outdo.”
MEGETHOS: means “greatness, a quality of exceeding a standard of excellence.”
Paul heaps one word upon another to impress upon us the extreme, humongous, immeasurable nature of the power.
God’s full horsepower is at our disposal, working in us who believe.
What is the power (Greek word “dunamis”), this “might, force, capability”?
Jesus said, “I tell you the truth: It is good for you that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you, but if I go, I will send Him to you. (John 14:6-7)
He promised, ‘You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” (Acts 1:8a)
And because this Counselor, the Holy Sprit, now lives inside of us, with us at the very deepest level, we will do greater things than even Jesus’ miracles. (John 14:2)
You see, the very same power that empowered Jesus’ ministry on earth dwells in us.
The very same power that called Lazarus to come out of the tomb lives in you in the presence of the Third Person of the Trinity.
The power in the hands that touched blind eyes and made them see, that broke bread and fishes and fed 5,000 is in you.
But I don’t see anything of the kind, you say.
I feel powerless.
Perhaps, but the scripture says that you are filled with incomparably great power toward us who believe, “like (Greek “kata,” “in accordance with, just as, similar
But I don’t see anything of the kind, you say.
I feel powerless.
Perhaps, but the scripture says that you are filled with incomparably great power toward us who believe, “like (Greek “kata,” “in accordance with, just as, similar to”) as His mighty strength which He (God) exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead.”
I don’t see it, you contend.
Exactly.
Laying hold of this power today is a function of our faith.
It is a function of seeing the truth in our hearts and then acting upon it.
That is why Paul is praying diligently that the eyeballs of your heart may be opened, that your blindness be cured, that your faith be broadened.
And mine too.
In the past we have lived far below our hope, our inheritance, and our power.
But we need live there no longer.
God is opening our eyes and stirring up our faith.
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him, but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit. (I Corinthians 2:9-10)
Consider I John 4:4 and Ephesians 3:20.
To summarize:
Paul prayed 2 things in this prayer:
ONE: “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.”
TWO: “That the eyes of your heart may be (being) enlightened to know 3 things:
1. “What is the hope of His calling”
2. “What are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.”
3. “What is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.”
Use this prayer to pray for others and yourself.
