Ephesians 1:17-19 has become my favorite prayer to pray for myself and my family.

I spend a lot of my prayer time in the formal living room located in the center of my house. In the formal living room, I have an antique piano and above the piano is a picture of me, my husband, my three daughters, and one son-in-law. The picture was taken several years ago. Missing in the picture, are two grandchildren, another son-in-law, and a soon to be son-in-law. 

However, this picture is still my reminder to pray for each person in my family. When in prayer for my family, I look at the picture and call each one out by name, even those who aren’t in the picture. And I pray Ephesians 1:17-19 over them all. 

Here Is Paul’s Ephesians 1:17-19 Prayer 

 

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, 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, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.

Ephesians 1:17-19

 

I can’t think of anything more important to pray than this prayer that Paul prayed for His beloved Ephesian church. The Ephesian church was a faith-filled, loving church. Paul loved and prayed for them. He wanted them to experience the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. For my most beloved family members to experience the manifestation of answered prayer to Ephesians 1:17-19 satisfies my deepest desires for them all. 

 

Let’s Break Down Some Of The Highlights Of My Favorite Prayer. 

 

Paul Prayed That God Would Give Them The Spirit Of Wisdom. 

 

Wisdom means intelligence. The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the New Testament says this term speaks of the knowledge of diverse matters which belong to man and of supreme intelligence that belongs to God. 

The Bible is filled with the topic of wisdom.

Wisdom given by God always causes an elevation in knowledge, understanding, abilities, wealth, and honor. No doubt having wisdom is as Solomon wrote, better than rubies; and all things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. (Proverbs 8:11) Wisdom is a top-shelf quality and attribute that we all need. But wisdom by itself is lacking. Paul did not pray that they have wisdom only, but wisdom AND revelation. That is the ultimate combination. 

 

Revelation In The Knowledge Of Him

 

Revelation in the original Greek language is the noun, apokalupsis. It expresses a laying bare or naked, a disclosure of truth. It can even mean a manifestation or appearance. Notice that Paul prayed for wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God. We need God’s wisdom, God’s revelation, and we need the knowledge of God.

The word knowledge used in Ephesians 1:17 is transliterated, epignosis. Many times, the word knowledge comes from the word gnosis, but epignosis is more intense.  The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the New Testament states that knowledge or epignosis as used in Ephesians 1:17, “expresses a more thorough participation in the acquiring of knowledge on the part of the learner.” 

 

While Paul prayed for God to give the Ephesian church wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, he also prayed for their participation. That is our faith in God lived out. We participate in the faith journey. God gives to each of us as believers in Christ a measure of faith, yet calls us to participate in the journey. We seek. He enlightens.  

 

Paul Prayed That “The Eyes Of Their Understanding Be Enlightened.” 

 

The word understanding deals with the mind and our intellect. The Greek term points out that the word is used as a substitution of the thing actually meant. Therefore, we must take into account the “be enlightened” part because that is the rest of the story of Paul’s prayer. Paul wanted the Ephesian believers to experience understanding in their minds and intellect. 

 

He also tied that mental and intellectual understanding to enlightenment. So, guess what! I know you know! We need to look at the meaning of enlightenment because it is a deeper understanding of what Paul actually prayed and wanted for them. 

•  Enlightenment means to give light to or to shine upon.

 

The interesting thing about this to me is our lack of participation in “the eyes of our understanding being enlightened.” God gives light and shines on our minds and our intellect to give us understanding. 

 

We participate in our faith journey by seeking God for wisdom and by participating as a learner in acquiring knowledge. But only God enlightens our minds and intellect to understand the things of God and the words of God. 

 

Think back over the specific terms we defined so far: wisdom, revelation, knowledge, and understanding. If we gain those four things in our faith journey, I would say, we are good. We have all that we need to live an amazing life in Christ. That is exactly why Paul prayed this because the next thing we see in Ephesians 1:18 is the reason Paul prayed it. He wanted them to know what is the hope of God’s calling and the glorious riches of His inheritance in the saints. 

 

Ephesians 1:17-19 Prayer Equals Great Rewards

God’s wisdom, revelation, knowledge, understanding, and enlightenment are how we know His calling and experience the rich reward of His inheritance. This is why Ephesians 1:17-19 is my favorite prayer to pray for myself, my husband, my adult daughters, their spouses, and my grandchildren. There truly is nothing that I want more for myself and those I love the most than this to be fulfilled in their life. 

 

I challenge you to write Ephesians 1:17-19 on an index card or in your prayer journal. Memorize it. Declare it. Pray it for yourself and those you love, and watch how God reveals Himself in you and your family’s life.