Ok. Here it is. The last option. It is my favorite. Of course that is because it is my own personal approach to transitions and setting up a plan for intentional growth. Though each of the other options can and do work – I know, I’ve used them too – This method is my favorite.
OPTION FOUR: It’s been developed over several decades of my life. Yet, it is still a work in process. For me, having used this pattern for several years, I will admit there is a fair amount of cross over from one step to another. But to help you understand it, I’m going to go step by step in the posts about this method for transitioning and encouraging a plan for intentional spiritual growth. My suspicion is that it always will be a work-in-process.
NOTE: Until now, I’ve never attempted to explain this method to anyone. Straight skinny: I take a primarily spiritual approach — TOP DOWN. Why? Because when my vertical relationship with Almighty God is aligned, then my horizontal activities reflect it. Living by Faith requires both efforts vertically toward growth and horizontally toward growth. When my spiritual life aligns with God’s plans for my life, then the other areas of my life and the growth goals in those areas seem easier to plan and a bit easier to achieve. No, not always, but most of the time.
The efforts of my heart, mind, soul and strength all align with what I believe is in obedience to God and His Word. Efforts and God go hand in hand. Not to earn God’s love, for we can never ever do that. It is free. The gift of new life, made possible by Jesus’ death, inspires my efforts. And it is not that God needs i my help, for He does not. But it because He gives me the privilege to show Him my love by following closely after Him and focusing my life to be His disciple.
Growth efforts and God in my intentions (resolutions or goals) is to show my love for all He has done in my life. My over-arching life goal is to be a Christian BEING, DOING, not a Christian sitting or coasting. When that day comes, I do not want to be luke-warm. So everyday, every moment counts. Every second, I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit and on fire for my Lord.
Am I 100% successful, every moment of every day? No and No. But to quote Lysa Terkheurst: the phrase is “imperfect progress”. I love how she speaks of this, and the phrase resonates in my heart. Progress is never perfect on this earth. Making progress is never totally done. Imperfectly, taking our perfectionist tendencies away, that allows us to make progress. Inch by inch.
We move forward, try to overcome weaknesses, then we slide back, yet hopefully persevere. We get one area – we think – under control; then God shows us another area He wants to refine, reveal or enliven. Often returning to the same areas over and over in the course of a lifetime. Until at last, we humbly admit, we are powerless over the predispositions – but that GOD can bring healing to each and every area of our lives.
To make valuable productive progress at all in life, it is my personal belief and experience, that one mustcontinue to grow as a person in six key areas: forgiving, loving, giving, self-control, learning, and sharing what we have learned. To make progress in any one of these areas, seems to require intentional focus and intentional efforts. Most especially, growth in these areas requires obedience to God. It is only through God’s intervention bringing His Spirit to bear in our lives we are able to consistently steadily move to increased forgiving, loving, giving, self-control, learning, and sharing what we have learned with our fellow humans on the journey.
Moving forward does not “just” happen. Growth rarely just happens. Even if we seek to bloom where we are planted, food, water, and sunshine are required. We can only grow with God’s help. With the power of the Holy Spirit in us, and allowing God to speak to us thru the Word, work with us as we are obedient to do all that He asks of us, and being flexible to move and act in God’s timing and strength, not our own. This does not in any way remove our responsibilities. In fact, it acknowledges and reinforces that without Him, we can do nothing. Nothing of eternal value. Sliding backward, or stalling out, on the other hand — well, that is the “normal” less-than-ideal human estate ever since the Cosmic Coup.
SO….. Have I begun efforts to tie down and document intentional resolved goal-setting and growth plans for 2017? Yes.The process for 2017 is well underway. It is partially documented in squeaky notes, post-its, scribbles on napkins, prayer notes, margin Bible notes, and in the soft tissues of my heart and soul. Am I done yet? Not quite. Yet, that is no excuse to not start moving in obedience to what has already been revealed for action and intentions for 2017.
THE BIG STEPS of OPTION FOUR:
First, start with Asking God to take His highlighter to show me a verse or verses for this year (2017) that will hold meaning and challenges for me all year-long. My intention is always to percolate this verse or verses deep into my heart and life. One way I do that is to set a goal to memorize the verse or section of scripture provided for the year. Sometimes other verses pop into focus as the year progresses.
I post the verse(s) on my bathroom mirror. I need the reminder – always. My challenge is to not just read it, or even to “see” it, but to recall it all year-long in each day and within various circumstances as they present themselves. Since God knows all things, and knows me better than anyone on earth and ALWAYS wants what is best for me, what better place to go? The only true God who sees both the end and the beginning simultaneously – is where I seek objective truth. Said another way, God’s view of me is far more important than my own view of me.
STEP ONE RESULTS — 2017 — noticing a pattern in conjunction with WARRIOR.
1 John 4: 9 and 10 “In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that HE loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation of our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” Leading areas of application is Loving and Forgiving
2 Timothy 1:7 “…for God gave us a Spirit not of fear, but of Power and Love and Self-Control.” (Read starting at verse 1 and see this in context). Area: Love and Giving
Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous, do onot be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; He will never leave you or forsake you” Learning – trust in particular. *again, yes*
2 Peter 1:5-8, 10 “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue and to virtue, knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with community affection and affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ……Therefore, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities, you will never fail.” Area of application: Learning, Loving, Sharing, and dare I add self-control?
STEP TWO:
I pray for a word. One single word that challenges growth. A word which for 2017 all my sub-goals can wrap around. A word which is representative, not just of who I am now, but who I want to be and who more importantly, GOD wants me to be in a year’s time. A word that will encourage and guide all my actions day-by-day.
A word that I may not even believe about myself now, but know that if God sent it, it will come true. This word is usually a verb, but not always. For example, one year it was BELOVED. That year this word walked through life with me in all it’s many events and flavors. By the end of that year, it was clear to me that being Beloved by God is a special place to be. Last year (2016) it was FORWARD. What a challenge.
The word is also most often linked directly to one of God’s attributes. If it is, in small measure in my life now, it will blossom and grow as the New Year unfolds. I expect 2017 to be no exception in this area.
God always has, and I believe always will – this side of heaven – expand the meaning of the word He provides to add focus and stability to intentional growth. Invariably, He also provides some growth directly from Him, for which I had no plans. (Our God is good.)
STEP TWO RESULTS — 2017 —
The word is WARRIOR
Attribute of God: ??? Seeking this answer in prayer.
So far, I know that means at least prayer warrior.
I am pondering if it also means warrior princess?
Is it to include warrior bride?
Does it mean defensive warrior, offensive warrior, warrior of holiness and justice?
YET – I can and have taken intentional action year-to-date to fulfill what I know now of how to apply that word toward growth. More focus, more time, more resting, more listening, more intimacy in prayer with my Lord.
STEP THREE:
I pray about what activities and ministries which are on my calendar now. Where am I committing my time, energy, talents, skills, and gifts? Or maybe I’m not? Was I in a fallow period last year?
I ask God to let me know (usually through his Word), but also thru affirmations from other Christian friends, or even other bloggers and books, and Spiritual Directors/Pastors, to help guide me.
I count on God to know if I want/need to continue these activities and commitments or if it is time to step down as a start a new chapter. This requires sober-self-assessment. This requires input from loved ones who are affected by my commitments.
STEP THREE RESULTS:
I know I am to continue teaching our Ladies Daytime Small Group Bible Study
I know I am to continue with Care Calling ministry.
I have been blessed to be a greeter at my church and shall continue.
I am trying to setup a weekly reunion group.
Partially complete – Prayers continue. I believe there may still be an add and a subtract for sometime in 2017. We’ll see how this unfolds as the year continues…….
Part of me likes to see things all laid out. Part of me now realizes that rarely happens. How do I balance the various roles in my life with the ministries I believe God has called me to do? Can I reasonably participate in these and not neglect my other responsibilities?
Yep…this is my challenge. When to move from prayer to action? Now. Wait for complete answer, or as in step one and two start with what has been provided and go day-by-day and step-by-step?
Next steps coming. Drill into these concepts and not only articulate the skeleton, but flesh it out into step by step tangible items. For now, we’ll pause here.
TAKE AWAY: As the 2017 transition toward new intentions, resolutions, goals continues I ask God every year to increase my FAITH. Lord, help me BELIEVE where-ever You lead is the best place to be. (Remember, “BELIEVE” is my favorite word) I pray for God to deepen relationships with Jesus Christ. I cry out for help to fulfill my vows and hold a committed heart to relationships. The struggle is real. The challenge is real. The opportunity to grow in the knowledge and wisdom of our Lord: real, unlimited and priceless.
Until the next post…dwell on below. Listen, meditate. Take what may be useful to you. For now, remember: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on these things.” Phillippians 4:8
PS — This last music video is one of my favorite prayer and meditation accompaniments. Just let God fill your heart and wash over you. Soak in His presence, and let God speak to you.
Our pastor is sharing a series on Acts. I’m uber enjoying it. It is helping to transform me and my actions as well as my thoughts. I highly recommend it.
To hear yourself, you can visit the website via this link: http://orchardmchenry.org/about-us/messages-media. The series is well underway, but I haven’t posted about it until now. Not because each sermon hasn’t been good — they have. ALL of the sermons in the Momentum series are on the church’s website. I haven’t posted about Acts because I was distracted.
The heart touch yesterday was that we were in Acts chapter 4. It was about the Holy Spirit. An area which for many is confusing. What I loved was a quote he used, though the source is unknown. It was, in essence: “It is not that we need more of the Holy Spirit, but that He needs more of us”. I’ve been reflecting on that reality ever since.
I may have heard it before, but it didn’t strike me the same way. This time, I realized that I’ve been praying for some time about a certain area in my life. Trying to grow in one area by changing thinking patterns, and trying to grow in another area by shaking off a bad habit. Last night, as I was falling asleep, and praying (as per my typical pattern) – I suddenly had a thought interrupt my prayer.
What if God has already answered both of these prayers, but I haven’t been aligned with the Holy Spirit and given Him more of me so that He can empower me to make both these changes. Smack my head moment.
Me now? My profile gives some limited information about me. Here is some more…..
I have been a believer in Jesus Christ for over 50 years. I’m the first to say that doesn’t mean a thing, if I don’t spend time and energy daily to grow, learn and share more of Christ than I did as a small child. There are areas of my spiritual walk where I still stumble, fall and struggle. I suspect there always will be. It has been my experience that some of our deepest wounds become the very places where we can realize God’s greatest healing.
Just as physical infants after birth must experience healthy growth in order to reach maturity, so too must we as Christians. Just as human infants are incapable of going it alone throughout the developmental stages of life, so also are we as newborn Christians. We need God’s Word and we need someone, maybe many some ones to come alongside us to teach and encourage us to grow through the developmental stages of a spiritual journey. We need someone just 1/2-1 step ahead of us on the journey to come close and to disciple, coach and mentor us.
By the way, I define growing as a believer in God as thinking, feeling, and acting more like Christ now, than a year ago, and the year before that, and the year before that. Unlike physical human infants, I believe we never out-grow the developmental stages of our spiritual journey until we are with God for eternity. There are always ways to change, to grow, to share, to serve. We live in a hurting world. We are broken people. I do not, nor ever will claim to have all the answers. I don’t. I do not attend church regularly believing I’m perfect; exactly the opposite, it is because I know I’m not that I go to be supported and to meet with God within a local community of similarly minded believers in God.
This blog? Well, it is where I take time out of daily life, to share some of the issues and thoughts that I have pondered and reflected upon for some time, the blog is the top of the iceberg. While I dream of posting more frequently, if it takes me away from the priorities I believe God has currently called me to do and to be, then it will continue to be intermittent. And I hope that is OK with you. I hope that when I do share that you find it useful for your own spiritual journey.
What to know more about me? By far, the easiest method is to visit and cruise through my Pinterest page under the name: Susan Mosey Honeycutt. It is not a business page and I have nothing to sell. It is where I stash some of the things that help me. Things for personal growth, service, organization, causes and hobbies.
There, you can explore my “pins”, boards, priorities, and interests. You will likely glean some information about my passions. For example, you might observe that I am passionate about Jesus Christ, God’s Word, Bible study & memorization, and helping others to grow in their faith journey. I am passionate about helping people who are in faith challenging circumstances. I am passionately living life. Make every moment count.
You might observe some interests that are avocations and some that have grown into a new vocation. The area of my spiritual journey which gives me the greatest joy and absorbs the largest majority of my time is intercessory prayer. Reading several books on prayer is a hobby. There are even a few blogs on the topic. I don’t talk about it or read about it, nearly as much as I DO it. I have kept a “War room” type of journal and prayer list for decades before the movie. I love seeing the faithfulness of God’s answers.
I have no formal seminary education. I do however regularly sit at the feet of my Lord. I attend classes and seminars on Christian topics and I find reading various theology books to be very enjoyable. Please consider my pondering as coming from a place in my heart and mind. Use at least a few grains of salt when you consider my postings.
In the future? I’m thinking of starting a short series of posts sharing chapters from my past and present faith journey. Your feedback might be just the encouragement I need. By the way I still consider myself a “newbie” on this WordPress thing, so most of my stuff is at the simplest form. [Thank you Daddy Blitz for your guidance.]
For fun, I have attached a song below that speaks deeply to my heart today and in the past few weeks. I have a “To my heart” playlist that is updated regularly as the journey continues. Maybe I’ll tell you about how God uses music in my life one day.
Thanks for stopping by. Thank you for reading. If you want, please follow. I would be honored to have you alongside. I would love to have your feedback and comments. I can only hope that I did this correctly so that is possible! (Smile)
I’ve been living in a waiting room for many weeks. Are there ever circumstances in your life you would like to change? Things you know God can change. Concerns you hope He will change; yet it appears on the surface as if nothing is happening. Ever been there?
Some call it a desert experience. I don’t call it that because for me, it is more like a closet, or waiting room or hallway experience. In the hallway you see doors, but none has opened yet. In the waiting room, you expect to be “called into” or “called back to” the professional person’s private space or examination room, but the wait is hours beyond your assigned appointment. So you sit. Or maybe it is the ER or urgent clinic and you didn’t even expect to be there, so you sit. In the closet, you are simply cut-off from socialization and “normal” routine life.
The waiting chair
That is what this last 6 months have been like for me. I find waiting can be a productive time. A time to: grow closer to my God; get intimate with Jesus. A time of increased prayer. A time of increased Bible study and learning where and how to apply truths that pop out at me during these times. Truths it seems that I am unable or unwilling to notice when I’m bustling with life activities, duties, responsibilities, tasks.
Tough times? You betcha. Challenging days? Oh yeah. Frustrating? Yes – at times; I wanted it to end – sooner. There has been a lot of illness for me and for my loved ones during these last months. There have been many pajama days in these weeks. Walking day-to-day with joy and hope is sometimes a stretch; I have to be honest. Some solitude, isolation, and some new friendships built slowly, privately, and hopefully steadily.
My take away: Slowing down, whether voluntarily or involuntarily due to circumstance outside our control is not a bad thing. It is a good thing. It helps us to filter out. It helps purge the unnecessary from life in order to focus on the important. It removes unnecessary “urgent” tasks from our life.
Response: Thank you Lord for this waiting time. I would not have asked for it, but I am grateful that you allowed all these circumstances into my life to prepare me for something wonderful. Something only You can teach me; something I need now or will need in the future. Thank you, in Jesus’ Holy name, Amen. God you are awesome.
I was doing some computer clean up today and renaming some files for consistency. I wanted to be able to find them easier using search on a key word. In order to rename, several needed to be opened and reviewed. As I was doing this, I was privileged to re-read and re-pray several prayers that had touched my heart in the past.
Some were from specific Facebook, Blog, or Websites I frequent or subscribe too. These are attributed. Some were prayers I had written in the past and overlay onto beautiful scenery. Some prayers were written by authors I read and respect or extracted from books by others, and were correctly attributed. Some were historical prayers from past Christians, upon whose shoulders we all stand. Some were source unknown.
The important thing to me was this: each one touched my heart in some way. I was amazed to look up and find that several hours had passed in this activity. Here’s the question – was this computer work, or was this significant time in prayer? My thoughts at this point are both.
Here is an example:
Sometimes, we are unable to put our prayers into words. When this happens to me, I find praying through the prayers of others (such as above) can still my heart. It can align my thoughts and heart with God. Praying with written prayers, can draw me still closer to God; it can lift my spirit; it can expand my reality. Praying with others can grow our compassion and love for others. Even when we are “reading” a written prayer, and not saying a “spontaneous” prayer, we can BE spontaneous in our prayers to Almighty God.
Just a thought. I’d love to know what you think. Leave me a comment. Have you found written prayers useful? If so, how?
It is Wednesday of Holy Week for most Western Christians, prayer during this week is common. I would like to encourage you again to increase your prayer by considering another acrostic method for prayer. It is the very word PRAYER itself. What could be easier?
P – Praise God, be thankful for all the blessings in our lives, even praise God for the trials and circumstances that can be tough in our lives. Think of all God has done to reconcile us to Him. So much grace and mercy simply cannot be ignored.
R – Repent and be made whole again. This is telling God about our mess-ups, short-falls of omission (not doing what we should have) and errors made – sins of commission (doing what we should not have done)
A – Adore God, When love. Plain and simple. Do you love God? He loves you. He loves me. He is love, so he cannot love anyone. His love is so complete, He died to give us each a future and a hope; to give us a path of reconciliation to God the Father.
Y – Your needs. We all have personal requests we pray for or want to pray for. Often, but not always, they are related to the very same items we repented and confessed above. Keep us from temptation, help me to be more faithful, loving, kind, gentle, humble, wise, frugal, bring me healing. I urge you to examine your motives again. (If the reason for these requests — i.e. bring me a winning lotto ticket — is greed, go ahead and pray it, but be willing to hear God say, no, not this week).
E – Everyone else’s needs. We all have people in our circle of life. Some are people we would prefer be in another circle. Jesus commanded we pray for those people. Some are people we like, or have heard of their needs via a prayer chain, or posting request, or email, or conversation where one’s ear picked up a need. Some requests will most certainly be for those we love here on earth. Sometimes the needs of others are unspoken to us, but if we ask the Holy Spirit, how can I pray for my child, my husband today – What do they need? God will answer.
R – Rejoice in the coming answers, and recognize God hears and loves to hear from you. Ask in faith, and thank God for the answers – even if you do not yet see them in fruition. As of now, I have only known God to answer 3 ways. Yes, No, Wait in the hallway until the door opens. Personally, I prefer either of the first two over the Wait. But God has His plan, and our best interest at heart *always*. I would love to hear from you. I am a lover of prayer and spending time with my Lord. If you find these PRAYER blogs helpful let me know. If you have a specific PRAYER question, let me know.
Have you ever wondered where to start if you are unfamiliar with prayer? One way is to use a standard prayer-book, or a compendium of historical prayers. Another method is to use scripture and pray a Bible verse or two. Some people like praying with a pattern to help them stay on track. I’ve used a few of these forms in the past, and sometimes still do. One is called A.C.T.S. The acronym stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. It contains all the topical elements of the Prayer Jesus taught his disciples. (BTW, I have no idea who first came up with this idea.) Adoration is the noun version of the verb Adore. I think for the purposes of prayer, though the acronym was taught to me as Adoration, I think of it as the verb form. Actively speaking my love and worship to God my divine creator. For me it is showing God my reverence. It is knowing my position as the Beloved humbly in front of the Great I AM God. I am in a heavenly throne room, and want to recognize God and His position. His “otherness”. Confession is next. To me it is a logical transition. This is the part that makes all of us uncomfortable. It means that we acknowledge and own our wrong doings, our sins, and then confess them each to God — agree with him that we have sinned — and turn away from those actions and thoughts. For me this is part of “wiping my slate clean” with God by telling Him all my mistakes and mess-ups. BONUS: We have the joy of knowing scripture 1 John 1:9 promises us that when we confess the sins we know of, and ask God humbly to reveal any of which we are unaware, then ALL our sins are covered – even the ones we don’t know about – and therefore cannot confess. God is so gracious to us and so incrediably merciful. He gives us what we do NOT deserve and does NOT give us what we do deserve. Grace and Mercy is where confession becomes powerful to call us back into God’s love. He never leaves us, but in reality, each one honestly looking at ourselves – we know we leave Him. He is ever faithful and loving, we are not. Next is Thanksgiving. Have an attitude of gratitude. Think of and really tell God about people and things you are happy are in your life. Thank God for anything that give you joy or peace: People you love, People you need to love, Enemies who teach us love, Blessings of home, job, family, nature’s wonders, beauty. Appreciate the blessings God has given you and thank Him for these. This section can be very long if you practice gratitude on a daily basis. This is an ideal place to thank God for all that He IS to you personally, as well as for all He has done for and with and to you. It can be short if you are new to the concept of gratitude and thanksgiving for the daily blessings of all that God provides. That’s ok. Just do what you can. After adoring worship and confession, and thanksgiving, it is the ideal time to tell God what concerns you and to make your supplications for intervention on your behalf or on behalf of others. Tell God the situation, be specific, and ask God for what you need. God already knows our heart, so you may as well put all your cards on the table. He knows your prayers before words form on your tongue, and yet, scripture commands us to pray. To humbly kneel before the throne of our God and King and make our requests. Scripture also tells us to pray in alignment with the Spirit, and it cautions us that sometimes we do not have because we ask with impure motives. (Refer to Lent Reflection2014) So before you give God your list of “wants”, as if He is just a Santa in the Sky, consider with due reverence what your motives are for making the requests. Is it a need, a want, an intercession on behalf of another, or yourself (which by the way – is perfectly fine). THINK – Is it true, is it honest, is it needful, is it helpful, is it kind? There is no space for pretense in such an intimate relationship as we have with God in prayer. Prayers are answered. Most people may close by asking “in the name of Jesus Christ” or something of that sort. Do you know why? Not as a habit I hope, but sincerely obeying the commands found in the gospels that Jesus tells his disciples to petition God in His (Jesus’) name. Again an act of humility before a mighty God in acknowledging the ONLY reason we can come to Him with our requests is because Jesus’ death and resurrection made a bridge whereby we can do so. I’d be happy to hear your thoughts on A.C.T.S. Have you ever tried this method? Are you willing to give it a try out even for a few days? Let me know. If you have other methods, please feel free to share. I would be encouraged by your feedback, and if you like this reflection, be sure to share it with others.
Prayer is relationship driven. If you love someone don’t you want to speak with them regularly? You want to learn as much about them as you can do. You want to know what gives them joy. Do you? I do. Knowing God is critical to my relationship with Him. Both in my speaking to God through prayer and in listening for His reply, (most often through reading and studying His Word, the Bible), and also through fellowship within a body of like fellow believers in Christ.
Continuing the series on prayer, I want to share with you one of my favorite Bible prayers. It is found in the book of Ephesians, one of my favorite books. It is written by the apostle Paul. To give a very brief synopsis of Ephesians, the first 3 chapters tell us who we are in Christ. If you ever struggle with your self-image, studying this book is a great place to start to see yourself as God sees you. The last 3 chapters tells us, now that we are in Christ, how we want to live to show off God’s glory and keep His reputation spotless.
The prayer for today’s reflection is one of Paul’s prayers for the Ephesians. I don’t know about you, but I think he was well practiced in prayer. Scripture does not tell us how Paul learned to pray, but it is clear from his writings, that not only did he know how to pray, he believed in the power of prayer.
I’m no theologian, but I dare say all of Paul’s letters contain at least one prayer. I don’t believe he did this as a mere formality of letter writing in his day. I believe this was done to encourage other believers – then and now. I believe it was his enthusiasm and love for Christ that made Paul love to pray.
In speaking about this passage, the Asbury Commentary says: “Paul hopes that the Ephesians will know God not only as the Father who legally adopted them but also as the Father who loves them. More than legal heirs, they are also children; …. they are members of God’s household”As such, I believe Paul hopes they will want to know God more intimately. As such, hopefully WE also want to know God more intimately.
One reason I love this particular prayer in Ephesians is because reminds me, not only that God cares about my personal and detailed concerns, but with this prayer it brings in an understanding that we need to take seriously the call to pray for the spiritual needs of others.
This is a big responsibility, particularly when I often feel inadequate about living my own spiritual life with consistency. (*Tip: Go back and read Eph. chapters 1-3) I chose to emphasize that it is also an incredible privilege to pray for other’s growth along their spiritual journey. There are few things more satisfying than seeing spiritual growth in a person you pray for and care about. This is what Paul asks for the people of Ephesus:
********* Ephesians 1:17-20 (NIV) ***********
17 “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. 18 I pray 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 his holy people,19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength,20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms…”
As I look at this prayer, the first observation is Paul saying: “I keep asking”. He perseveres even if he does not hear an immediate answer, he continues to pray for the believers in Ephesians. News traveled slow, but He did not stop because the need was always present. It is still a need today. Are we consistent in praying for the spiritual needs of others?
Second observation is that Paul recognizes and hallows to whom he is praying. He first asks God, (as God Almighty), then he further mentions God in Trinitarian context, as the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ (a title I love), and his next mention and first request is that the Holy Spirit would take particular action to benefit the Ephesian believers.
Third, I notice what action Paul requests. He specifically asks the Spirit to provide wisdom and revelation to the believers. Without the revelation of the Holy Spirit, we are unable to know God. Without the assistance of the Holy Spirit we are unable to understand anything God wants to communicate with us. It is only through the leading of the Holy Spirit we are even able to want to know God.
Fourth observation – Paul includes the reasons for the requests within the prayer, “so that” and “in order to”…I love that. Do we carefully craft our prayers to know what and why we are praying for a need? Or do we just blurt out something without understanding the reason? I encourage you to go deeper in prayer as Paul did, and think about the reason for your request. Why are you asking for God’s assistance in the matter? Be specific, what is the outcome you are hoping for? What is the “so that” and the “in order to” for your requests? In other words, if God grants your prayer, what result would you see?
The first reason Paul gives is for the people to know God better. “If Paul’s prayer is answered, God will show himself to the Gentiles in particular and give them insight to understand the divine mystery of grace.” (ibit)
What a wonderful request each of us can make for ourselves, our families, our friends, and our communities. If we, as believers, want to grow, we need to hunger to know God better. We need to dive deep into God’s grace. Go all in. When I can’t think of any other prayer, I ask God to give me deeper understanding of His grace, and an unending hunger for His word. What I want most is to know Him better. I ask the same for my family, my friends, my pastors, and my community.
Fifth, I notice in His second sentence Paul moves straight to the heart of the matter. “Heart” in this passages is considered the very center and core of life. Prayer is a matter of the heart. Loving God is a matter of the heart. Knowing God is a matter of the heart. Having Hope is a matter of the heart. So, when Paul asks God to open the eyes of their hearts, that they may be enlightened, Paul is asking the best thing he can think of for his friends in Ephesus. Again, Paul tells us why: “in order” that you (the Ephesians) may know the hope to which God has called you (the Ephesians).
Today, is it just as important to know the hope to which God has called us. Knowing Whom our hope is, in Whom our hope is placed, knowing to Whom we belong, is a matter of the heart. It is in our heart that we experience God’s light and life. Through His Holy Spirit dwelling in us, that enlightenment comes from God.
Sixth, Knowing hope and knowing our calling from God is absolutely essential in living a Christian life. As I reflect upon this, I realize knowing the hope of our inheritance is part of a deepening appreciation of God’s plan for our lives as we journey with Him. I also think of the many times in my journey past, when I did not have a clear vision of what God called me to do, nor why he called me. Now days, I always come back to the same answer, He called me because He loves me.
God loves all His children. He offers reconciliation to all His children, but not all people are willing. We have free choice. God is a gentleman and will never force himself upon us. We and we alone are responsible for our choices and the consequences of those choices. Let me say this a different way – I don’t want to offend anyone – but man are you missing out if you pass up God’s offer of reconciliation in Jesus Christ.
Seventh observation, Here in the prayer for the Ephesians, Paul expands not only are we called of God, but Paul’s desire is that they realize the extent of the riches to be found in His glorious inheritance in His holy people. Wow. Can we ever wrap our head around that concept? Can we ever exhaust God’s glorious riches? Can we even take in that He is our inheritance and we are part of His? Us? Really? Doesn’t that just blow your mind? It does mine. It calls me further into prayer, it calls me deeper, it calls me to ask the Spirit to again further enlighten my heart so I may know God better, and to be holy, even as God is holy.
Eighth: This prayer calls me to realize that I can’t be holy, without God’s provision and power. Paul continues with the request for the enlightened heart to understand God’s incomparably great power for the Ephesians who believe. (Some translations say “toward us that believe”.) Then he explains in vs 20, that the same power, is what God used when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him (Christ) at His (the Father’s) right hand in the heavenly realms.
Now I admit, I’m not a theological scholar, but it certainly seems to me that Paul is saying we have access through prayer, to the same power of God used when Christ was raised from the dead. That is incredible power. Simply by praying. Again Wow. There is no need for us to fail when we have such power available to help us along our spiritual journey.
Think on this, reflect on exactly what Paul is asking God. Said another way, God is for us. The surprassing greatness of God’s power is toward us who believe. Again, Wow.
When I’m discouraged or wondering what to pray, I know I can count on the Holy Spirit to intercede for us because the Bible says so, (Rom 8:26-27) yet I also know that when I can’t think of how to pray or what to pray for myself or others, I often turn to a prayer such as this one which shows me a practical way to prioritize prayer needs. It is another model prayer, one way to pray for others on their spiritual journey. To me, that is one of the greatest privileges of all. To intercede on behalf of others. To ask God to work in their life. And it is rare that I can think of something better to pray than that the eyes of someone’s heart be opened to all that God has in store for them: All the Good, all the richness of God, all the power to in faith ask and believe. Have expectant hope, the knowledge of a sure thing God has promised for us.
So I ask you, when you can’t think how to pray, where do you start?
Please let me know your thoughts about prayer and about this prayer and this reflection in particular.
******* For further reflection or diving deeper study try looking up these verses and
consider what they have to say in relation to the prayer above….. ***********
Surrounding context: Start at Ephesians (Eph.) 1: 15-16
This was originally drafted in May 2013 – Interrupted and forgot to post. Too funny, but OK. Means, it was meant for now. So I will update before posting. For most of last year (2013), I used a different form of study than in prior years. I try to pick a format for Bible study early in the year and follow that same format for most of the year. In 2013, I most of my study was topical. Most days, my Bible study revolved around prayer. This included reading multiple books on prayer, as well as experimenting using different forms of prayer. It meant also working to clarify my prayers, my prayer motives, and taking my prayer life into different forms. I needed to includes more Bible study, prior to praying through my prayer lists of needs. I needed to let God speak to me through His Word, the Bible, before I felt I could speak to Him. I needed to place the needs of others, before my own. Yet, I felt that laying my heart bare to God was critical to a vibrant prayer life. For me, prayer is getting to know God more intimately in a wider array of being. Prayer for me is not just a habit. It is not a “discipline”, something I *have* to do. It is not merely like breathing out and breathing in – a necessity for life. It is a way of life. Prayer is so ingrained in my being that I cannot live without it. I think prayer is “addicting” in a good way; because as you see prayers answered, you want to pray more and more. You see God working in your life and in the life of others, and in situations in our world, and you want to take Him all that concerns you. A sensitivity to the needs of others increases. Vision for the world grows, and includes big needs as well as small personal needs. Prayer is an unbelievable privilege. The Bible tells us that we enter into the very presence of God. Wow. This continues to blow me away. To think that the God of the universe invites me to bring Him my cares and concerns of daily living. Words fail to express my heart. Watch for more blogs on Prayer in the future. Let me know if this is something useful to you. Let me know if you would like to learn more about prayer. How to do it, different forms, resources,etc. Example:
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It is the very word PRAYER itself. What could be easier?
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