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

Straight from the Word Part 2

I love being able to pray scriptures. When we do, we have no doubt that what we're praying God's will and we are confident that He'll answer.

¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, ¹⁶ that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— ¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
²⁰ Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, ²¹ to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21 NKJV

The apostle Paul explains to the church at Ephesus that he has been called by God to preach to them. The Christians in Ephesus were worried about Paul because he was in prison for preaching the gospel. So the prisoner here is writing and praying that God would strengthen these brothers and sisters of his who were worried about him.

What a loving and accurate way to praise God at the end of the prayer.

Again, the New Living Translation is less formal:

¹⁴ When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, ¹⁵ the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. ¹⁶ I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. ¹⁷ Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. ¹⁸ And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. ¹⁹ May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

 ²⁰ Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. ²¹ Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT

With a few tweaks, this prayer is ours. We can pray it for ourselves and for others.

Pray with me:

I bow my knees to You, the Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that You would grant me, according to the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened with might through Your Spirit in my inner man, that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith; that I, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that I may be filled with all the fullness of God.  Now to You, the one who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that I ask or think, according to the power that works in me, to You be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

And using the New Living Translation as our model:

I fall to my knees and pray to You, the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.  I pray that from Your glorious, unlimited resources You will empower me with inner strength through Your Spirit.  Then Christ will make his home in my heart as I trust in him. My roots will grow down into Your love and keep me strong.  And may I have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep Your love is.  May I experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then I will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from You, my God. Now all glory to You, God who is able, through Your mighty power at work within me, to accomplish infinitely more than I might ask or think.  Glory to You in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.