What I Am Praying For #2

WHAT I AM PRAYING FOR #2

Prayer is not about getting more from God; it’s about connecting more with God.

Ephesians 1:15-17 Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, 16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly… asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.

1. Prayers for spiritual wisdom

• Connection to the mind of God through his Holy Spirit so that we grow in the knowledge of God.

It was wisdom that God used to create the universe.

Proverbs 3:19 By wisdom the Lord founded the earth; by understanding he created the heavens.

Proverbs 8:27, 30 I (wisdom) was there when he established the heavens, when he drew the horizon on the oceans. I (wisdom) was the architect at his side. I was his constant delight, rejoicing always in his presence.

James 1:5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

2. Prayers for confident hope

Ephesians 1:18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

• Confident hope is fixing our hope on what is unseen.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

• Hope does not take away our hurting, it just gives us the reason and strength to endure it.

3. Payers for resurrection power

Ephesians 1:19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him.

What kind of power is available to us?

Ephesians 1:19 This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 1:21-23 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.