“…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.”
—Ephesians 1:17-18
PAUL’S PRAYER for the Ephesian Christians is that by God’s Word and Spirit they would increase in their knowledge of God. He prays this way because increasing in the knowledge of God and understanding in a greater way who God is and what He has done for us in Christ is the key to Christian maturity, which is embodied by a life of Christ-like humility.
THAT’S WHY all preachers ought to seriously preach and teach only the Word of God! No book reviews! No vacation stories! No jokes! No comedy shows! God has given us His Word of Truth so that we might know Him and be transformed by Him. 2 Cor. 3:18, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” And the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
DO YOU PRAY for your brothers and sisters in your congregation? Do you pray that they would come to know God in a greater and deeper way? Our problem with doubt, discouragement, anxiety, and depression all stem from not knowing God as we ought. When we go through deep waters our only comfort is in knowing God. And, as C.H. Spurgeon once wrote, “God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.” And we know His heart only from His Word.
THE MORE INTIMATELY we know God, the more we will love Him, praise Him, and rejoice to worship Him! The more we know God the more we will love the things He loves and hate the things He hates! The more we know God the more we will seek to serve Him and glorify Him with our words and works! All of this is wrapped up in knowing the truth of God’s Word! And so, the Apostle Paul prays that all believers would be given the spirit of wisdom and knowledge so that they might know God in a greater measure!
Friday Devotional: May 10, 2024
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
