Prayer to Know God

Prayer to Know God

I met my husband at my brother’s wedding. He was living in Oklahoma, and I lived in California. After my brother’s wedding, our first phone call with each other lasted three hours. I am not a phone person, so this was significant. I wanted to know more about him, but I also wanted to know him personally, to grow in our relationship. That’s still true today.

It has been a couple of weeks, so let’s review. Paul opened his letter with one long sentence on how we have already been blessed with every spiritual blessing to the praise of God’s glory (vs 3-14). In his next long, continuous sentence, Paul expresses thanksgiving for the Ephesian believers and states that he remembers them in his prayers. Today we will begin to look at how Paul prays for them. Verses 17-23 are one request – that believers would receive the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him – with three purposes behind the request (vs 18-19). Today we will consider the request.

15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in knowledge of him,18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.[1]

Ephesians 1:15-23

Before Paul shares his prayer request, he tells his readers of whom he makes the request– the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory. Paul emphasizes the truth that Jesus is central to God’s purposes, Jesus’ essential nature as the second person of the Trinity, and that God is glorious. Matthew Henry wrote regarding the title the Father of glory: “It is a Hebraism. God is infinitely glorious in himself, all glory is due to him from his creatures, and he is the author of all that glory with which his saints are or shall be invested.”[2] If you look back at verses 3-14, verse 3 begins with blessing God, and throughout the passage, Paul repeats, “to the praise of his glory” or variations of it. God is glorious and deserves to be praised.

Next, Paul presents his prayer request: “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him” (emphasis added). In the past, I’ve read over the first part and not thought twice about it, but this time, I wondered about the word spirit. First, the Greek word pneuma can be translated and refer to many things – the third Person of the Trinity, the spirit of a person (related to how one feels, thinks, makes decisions), a simple essence (a soul that leaves the body, an angel or demon), a disposition, influence, or attitude (i.e. “blessed are the poor in spirit”), and a movement of air (the wind, one’s breath).

Second, there are two main thoughts regarding pneuma as used in verse 17. 1) pneuma is referring to the Holy Spirit. 2) it refers to a disposition, influence, or attitude. Both schools of thought are well researched arguments, and both are argued by well-known theologians who know far more than I do. That said, in the Greek, there is no article before spirit such as we include in most of our translations (the). Also, believers have already received the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13). This cannot mean that we are receiving the Holy Spirit again (which both sides seem to agree on this). However, it is only by the Holy Spirit’s work that believers may receive a disposition, influence, or attitude of wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:10). Only the Holy Spirit can fill us with the knowledge of God. I lean towards the second understanding, but you can decide for yourself. It should not be a point of division since with both understandings, it is the Holy Spirit doing the work, and the wisdom and revelation are a gift from God.

I know that may have been more theology than you would normally pursue on your own, but it is good for us to slow down, think about different words, and think about the implication of those words.

Paul asks for wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him [God]. Paul’s request for the Ephesians to have wisdom is not new. He made similar requests in other letters particularly letters to churches dealing with false teaching like the church in Colossae.

“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:9-10).

“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9-11).

“and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ” (Philemon 6).

In general, wisdom is a right application of knowledge. John MacArthur defines wisdom as: “the fullness of godly knowledge and understanding of which the sanctified human mind is capable of receiving.”[3] If you were with me for the study through the book of James, you will remember that God wants us to ask Him for wisdom, He gives it generously, and true, godly wisdom is only from God (James 1:5; 3:13-18).

Sinclair Ferguson gives a helpful definition of revelation: “Paul is not suggesting that Christians receive their own private revelation. Rather, the Spirit brings us to know, understand, and live in light of the revelation God has made of himself in Christ and through the Spirit.”[4]

This wisdom and revelation is “in the knowledge of him.” I mentioned briefly already that this is not a secret knowledge like many false teachers taught. It isn’t for an elite few. Paul’s request is for all the believers in the Ephesian church (and surrounding areas) and by extension for us. The greatest privilege and highest aim we have is not just to know about God but to know Him better, personally, more intimately. And what is astounding is that God wants us to know Him better, personally, more intimately. Paul knew this was the Ephesians’ and our greatest need. In knowing God, we also understand who we are in Christ, every spiritual blessing God has already given us (vs 3-14), and we can discern spiritual truths (vs 18-23).

Paul wrote to the Philippian church: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith – that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:7-11, emphasis added).

Knowing God was of infinite value to Paul – surpassing worth. He was willing to lose everything, and in fact, he did give up all the things the world considers valuable, he suffered physically in many ways, was imprisoned multiple times, and ultimately was killed for the sake of knowing Jesus and making Him known.

C.H. Spurgeon and J.I. Packer share the same perspective. “Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued investigation of the great subject of the Deity. And while humbling and expanding, this subject is eminently consolatory [comforting]. Oh, there is, in contemplating Christ, a balm for every wound; in musing on the Father, there is a quietus for every grief; and in the influence of the Holy Spirit, there is a balsam [treatment] for every sore. Would you lose your sorrow? Would you drown your cares? Then go, plunge yourself in the Godhead’s deepest sea; be lost in his immensity; and you shall come forth as from a couch [bed] of rest, refreshed and reinvigorated. I know nothing which can so comfort the soul, so calm the swelling billows [waves] of sorrow and grief; so speak peace to the winds of trial, as a devout musing upon the subject of God”[5]

“We are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it. The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know God. Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfold, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. This way you can waste your life and lose your soul… Our aim in studying the Godhead must be to know God himself better. Our concern must be to enlarge our acquaintance, not simply with the doctrine of God’s attributes, but with the living God whose attributes they are.”[6]

The surpassing worth of knowing God is why in my Bible reading and prayer I have been focusing on “God is…” and “God does…” truths. I want to grow in my understanding of who God is, my relationship with Him, and how that impacts who I am in Christ, how I respond, and how I pray. Knowing God is our greatest privilege and highest aim.

Reflection

1.        What do you spend time, effort, and resources pursuing?

2.        How does your view of knowing God compare to Paul’s view? What do you need to change to make knowing God your greatest privilege and highest aim?

3.        Who will you commit to pray for daily for one year that they might know God better, personally, and more intimately, make Him their greatest privilege and highest aim, their deepest joy and satisfaction?

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Eph 1:15–23.

[2] Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible. (Hendrickson Academic, Unabridged edition .) Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/Eph/Eph_001.cfm?a=1098001 on August 27, 2024

[3] John F. MacArthur Jr., Ephesians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1986), 44.

[4] Ferguson, Sinclair. Let’s Study Ephesians. The Banner of Truth Trust, 2015.

[5] Spurgeon, C.H. “The Immutability of God” (sermon). Retrieved from https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/the-immutability-of-god/#flipbook/ on August 27, 2024.

[6] Packer, J.I. Knowing God. Intervarsity Press, 2023.