Ephesians 1:15-17 “For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in th knowledge of him…”
St. Paul uses the first 14 verses in chapter one of his Letter to the Ephesians for greetings and a long blessing of God. Two primary themes are expressed in the blessing. For starters, all of creation has been reconciled to God through faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Also, Paul wants the Christians to acknowledge that Jesus has united the church in himself.
The final nine verses of chapter one are used as St. Paul’s Prayer of Thanksgiving. Just as with verses 3-14, this section is a single sentence in the original Greek. Paul prays that the church in Ephesus will develop a deeper insight into God the Father’s powerful working and the rich gifts He’s provided through Jesus Christ.
Paul’s prayer of thanksgiving was written to a group of people, not a single person. As followers of Jesus Christ, there are a couple of examples we can learn from Paul’s words. For starters, each of us should have people we are thankful for and pray similar prayers, as we read here.
These weren’t people Paul was related to or individuals he would have benefited from their success. They were friends and coworkers in the Gospel whom he genuinely loved and was thankful for having in his life.
Yes, we should pray and be thankful for our family and relatives. However, there should be other people who consume our prayer life, people with a different last name than ours. Some of the people who don’t receive enough of our prayer time include our children’s teachers, friends at church who go out of their way to serve, government leaders making decisions in our communities, and those who protect our way of life.
More than this, Jesus instructs His followers to pray for those we consider our enemies. This is much more than just praying that they will get what they deserve. Also, I think we hear the word “enemy” and choose to think of an opposing country or military.
We might mumble a couple of words of prayer for those individuals, but we ignore our neighbors we disagree with and can’t stand bumping into in public. I think these are the people Jesus was referring to. The ones we consider evil because they don’t vote the same way we do.
The other takeaway many of us miss from Paul’s letter of thanksgiving is that he doesn’t pray about people. Instead, Paul prays for them. The two are not the same. Anyone can pray about another person without showing genuine love or thankfulness. However, praying for someone requires a part of the heart that has to belong to God.
Paul didn’t pray about the Ephesians, that they would do this or that to align with what pleased him and served his opinions, motives, and lifestyle. Instead, Paul prays for the Christians in Ephesus that God will bless them with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God, enlightening the eyes of their hearts that they may know the hope they’ve been called to.
This is much more than asking God to change the things a person does or how they behave. What Paul prays isn’t the same as asking for a person to become someone he likes better. St. Paul uses intimate words that would bless the ones he’s praying for in a way that doesn’t benefit him at all.
Who do you need to start praying for instead of about? How can your prayers for others fall more in line with Paul’s example today?