Freedom House Church and Healing Centre

What God wants us to know

 Hello Saints, keeping it simple but meaningful,

 When we pray for people, what do we pray? The Apostle Paul says, “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Eph. 6:18 NIV). That is pretty all encompassing – pray for everything for others. At prayer meetings, I don’t often hear prayers like I read in scripture, especially Paul’s prayers in his letters, but specifically from the letter to the Ephesians. There are two prayers he prays, while writing his letter, where his desire for them is to truly “know” necessary truths of the faith. Since Holy Spirit wrote through Paul, I believe it is not only God’s will for us to know that for which Paul prays but also see that his prayers are a model of how we should pray for others. This past week, I heard someone pray the prayer of Paul from the first chapter of Ephesians. I couldn’t get it out of my head for I thought to myself, “what would the church be like if God really answered that prayer in our churches?” As I read through Ephesians, there are actually two prayers I would love to see God answer in our day. Here they are:

•  “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. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe” (Eph. 1:17-19 NIV)
• “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Eph. 3:16-19 NIV)

There is so much to see in these two prayers, but I want to simplify it so that it can be part of our regular prayer life. First, we have a “glorious Father” who would love for us to “know Him better”. That requires spending time with Him, reading His word, listening to His voice, communing with Him on a deeper level. Secondly, we possess in us the precious Holy Spirit to give us wisdom and revelation, who can open the eyes of our heart to know three remarkable truths:

1.  The hope to which we have been called – our future glory in a new kingdom, with resurrected bodies and all that entails
2. The riches of God’s glorious inheritance – all that is ours now (spiritual blessings in Christ) and will be when we are glorified (Eph. 1:3-14)
3. The incredible power for us who believe – all of our spiritual gifts, wisdom, knowledge, power to heal and preach, and live as Jesus did.

Thirdly, by the same Holy Spirit, we can have the faith to believe Christ truly dwells in us, and out of that realize how much we are loved by Him and have a desire to really know His love. 

Here is the summary: Very simply, we should be praying for ourselves and others to know:

1. Our Father more
2. Our Hope in Christ
3. Our Inheritance in the saints
4. Our power in Holy Spirit
5. Our God’s love in us

What kind of church would we be if we were really rooted and grounded in these truths: UNSHAKEABLE! 

Please God, answer Pauls’ prayer in our day…start with us!

Peace!

"Advancing the Kingdom of God by releasing Spirit-filled followers to serve Jesus in freedom and joy."