Straight from the Word Part 3

In a home Bible study in St. Louis years ago, I recall sitting on the floor one night as we discussed Psalm 1.

         Blessed is the man
         Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
         Nor stands in the path of sinners,
         Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;     Psalm 1:1 NKJV

As we discussed the first verse, I could picture the person who is not "blessed" following a progression. This person is the opposite of who we want to be. First the "not blessed" person walks with and listens to the ungodly, but at least he is still moving so he has a chance to change directions. Then he stops moving and stands in the way that sinners go. But at least he's still standing, he can easily start walking again. But instead, he finally gets comfortable and takes a seat with people of bad attitudes.

The light came on as we read this passage. I was like "wow, where'd that come from?"

I had been praying Ephesians 1:17-20. I have written about praying this scripture before when I shared the ridiculous story of me wearing sunglasses. (I hoped we had laid that one to rest.)

In the prayer in Ephesians, Paul is asking God to bless his friends at Ephesus with understanding of who He is and who they themselves are in Him.

¹⁷ 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, ¹⁸ 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, ¹⁹ and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power ²⁰ which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, Ephesians 1:17-20 NKJV

That was the version that I used when I would pray those scriptures – in the days before the New Living Translation:

¹⁷ 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. 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.

 ¹⁹ I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power ²⁰ that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 1:17-20 NLT

God honors this prayer. Remember what 1 John 5:14-15 NLT tells us:

¹⁴This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

God's Word is His will. His will is that we know Him and we know the power we have in Him. Because I prayed this prayer so often, like daily, God honored it. I began to understand His word. This doesn't mean I know everything, but verses that I have read before, at times seem new. I have a new understanding of them.

In May, I had my last class in Bible Study Fellowship on the book of Isaiah. The study began in September. We would read one or more chapter weekly and answer questions. I was amazed at how I saw the scriptures in a new light. I would just read them and gain new understanding of them.

God gives me understanding of the Word in another way. Sometimes I have questions about a scripture, any scripture and I'll go to a church that same day or a few days after and the preacher will explain it—without knowing I had that question. If you think that is coincidence . . . well, it not! There are more than 31,000 verses in the Bible. How many coincidences can I have where I'm thinking of a scripture or asking God what it means and someone explains THAT scripture the same day or a couple of days later?

Thank God that He answers prayer. He wants us to understand. More proof:

 ⁴⁴ He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

 ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. Luke 24:44-45 NIV

Jesus gave His disciples understanding in the scriptures above.

Pray with me for yourself and others:

Father, I pray that You will give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of who You are, the eyes of my understanding being enlightened; that I may know what is the hope of Your calling, what are the riches of the glory of Your inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of Your power toward us who believe, according to the working of Your mighty power which You worked in Christ when You raised Him from the dead and seated Him at Your right hand in the heavenly places,   from Ephesians 1:17-20 NKJV

And for the more modern pray-ers:

I am asking You, God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give me spiritual wisdom and insight so that I might grow in my knowledge of You.  I pray that my heart will be flooded with light so that I can understand the confident hope You have given to those You called—Your holy people who are Your rich and glorious inheritance.

I also pray that I will understand the incredible greatness of Your power for us who believe You. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at Your right hand in the heavenly realms. -from Ephesians 1:17-20 NLT

Pray for the Lights to Come On--Ephesians 1:17-20

This next life story is so dumb I can't believe I'm sharing it. After you read it, we can act like it never happened.

I was riding in the car with my brother at dusk one summer evening. He was driving and I was trying to read something. Panic started creeping upon me when I realized I could not see what I was reading. I mean I could see it . . . but it was difficult . . . it was dark. I'm going blind. Man, what's up with my ey . . .

Hmmm, I'm not used to wearing sunglasses. They must have felt very comfortable on my face since I didn't notice I was wearing them. *blush*

Of course spiritual sight can be darkened as well. Many years ago I read how someone prayed scripture about the "eyes of your understanding." I began praying those scriptures daily. I still pray them today, but not as much as I need to. But I saw God answer that prayer. I began to understand the scriptures better—like taking off the sunglasses—or like the light being turned on.

This prayer fits perfectly with the reading scriptures about who God is. In Ephesians 1:17-20, the apostle Paul was writing to let the church at Ephesus know how he was praying for them. I've rewritten it as a personal prayer. And here I have used two versions of the Bible so you can choose whichever works best for you.

Father, I pray that You will give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of who You are, the eyes of my understanding being enlightened; that I may know what is the hope of Your calling, what are the riches of the glory of Your inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of Your power toward us who believe, according to the working of Your mighty power which You worked in Christ when You raised Him from the dead and seated Him at Your right hand in the heavenly places,                                                                         -from Ephesians 1:17-20 NKJV

I am asking You, God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give me spiritual wisdom and insight so that I might grow in my knowledge of You.  I pray that my heart will be flooded with light so that I can understand the confident hope You have given to those You called—Your holy people who are Your rich and glorious inheritance.

I also pray that I will understand the incredible greatness of Your power for us who believe You. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at Your right hand in the heavenly realms.                                                               -from Ephesians 1:17-20 NLT

I'm going to try to remember to pray these scriptures each time before I read God Is. My prayer is that as we read the booklet, the light will come on for us and we will have a better understanding of Him. Amen.