Andrew Murray- "Making mention of you in my prayers; That . . . the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know!" (Ephesians 1:16-18).
Immediately after Paul mentioned the Holy Spirit as God's seal on believers, he spoke of his unceasing prayer that God would give them the spirit of wisdom. (Unsplash image, Man praying with open Bible) Priscilla Du Preez
It is not enough that the believer has the Holy Spirit. The Spirit can only do His work in answer to prayer. Paul prayed unceasingly and teaches us to pray unceasingly, too, for the wisdom of the Spirit to enlighten the eyes of our heart.
Just as a child needs education, the believer who has the Spirit within him needs divine illumination daily to know God and the spiritual life He bestows. Without spiritual wisdom and understanding, we can never comprehend it.
Paul lists three things that we need to know:
1. "The hope of his calling"—the holy calling in which we are to walk.
2. "The riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints"—the unsearchable riches of the heavenly treasure which God has in His saints.
3. The power by which we can fulfill our calling and possess our heritage—"the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe." (See Ephesians 1:18-19).
This passage teaches many valuable lessons for those who are in the ministry. It points to the three great spiritual blessings that include all a Christian needs to know of what God has prepared for him. They remind us that to preach these truths to believers is not sufficient because human wisdom cannot grasp them.
If the knowledge is to come alive and be effective, it needs a special illumination of the Holy Spirit. Only the spiritual man can discover spiritual things.
God Himself, the Father of glory, will give the Spirit of wisdom in answer to definite and persevering prayer. Such teaching and praying will lead believers to the full life which the letter to the Ephesians sets before them.
The life of the Christian is truly the life of God in the soul. Nothing that we do can maintain that life or renew it. The great need of the believer is to wait upon God for the Holy Spirit to show "the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe."
No human mind can grasp it. The Holy Spirit living in the heart reveals it and teaches us to believe this truth. As Christians we are to depend on God every day to work in us according to the greatness of His strength in us who believe.
When we accept the Holy Spirit's teaching in answer to prayer, He will keep us conscious of the mighty power working in us. (Chapter 6, pp. 30-32)
3. The power by which we can fulfill our calling and possess our heritage—"the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe." (See Ephesians 1:18-19).
This passage teaches many valuable lessons for those who are in the ministry. It points to the three great spiritual blessings that include all a Christian needs to know of what God has prepared for him. They remind us that to preach these truths to believers is not sufficient because human wisdom cannot grasp them.
If the knowledge is to come alive and be effective, it needs a special illumination of the Holy Spirit. Only the spiritual man can discover spiritual things.
God Himself, the Father of glory, will give the Spirit of wisdom in answer to definite and persevering prayer. Such teaching and praying will lead believers to the full life which the letter to the Ephesians sets before them.
The life of the Christian is truly the life of God in the soul. Nothing that we do can maintain that life or renew it. The great need of the believer is to wait upon God for the Holy Spirit to show "the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe."
No human mind can grasp it. The Holy Spirit living in the heart reveals it and teaches us to believe this truth. As Christians we are to depend on God every day to work in us according to the greatness of His strength in us who believe.
When we accept the Holy Spirit's teaching in answer to prayer, He will keep us conscious of the mighty power working in us. (Chapter 6, pp. 30-32)
by Andrew Murray
Copyright © 1984
by Whitaker House
Used by permission
Let's pray-
Father, upon mentioning that the Holy Spirit is Your seal on believers, Paul spoke of his unceasing prayer that You would give the believers the spirit of wisdom.
He felt it wasn't enough for them to have the Spirit, but that they learn that He can only do His work in answer to their prayers for the enlightenment of the eyes of their hearts.
They needed divine illumination daily to know You, and the spiritual life You bestow. Without spiritual wisdom and understanding, they would not comprehend it.
If the knowledge and special illumination of Your Holy Spirit is to come alive and be effective, teaching and praying will lead believers to the full life which the letter to the Ephesians sets before them.
The life of the Christian is Your life in our souls. There's nothing we can do to maintain that life or renew it by ourselves. We need to wait upon the Holy Spirit to teach us daily, working in us according to the greatness of Your strength in us who believe.
Our prayer is that we'll accept the Holy Spirit's teaching in answer to our prayers, and that He'll keep us conscious of Your mighty power working within us. We ask for this in Jesus' name. Amen
Today's Bible verses-
Eph. 3:14-19 (NKJV) "For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (v. 15) from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, (v.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, (v. 17) that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you being rooted and grounded in love, (v. 18) may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— (v. 19) to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fulness of God."
Today's quote-
~ Oswald Chambers- "What is the greatest source of power in my life? Is it my work, service, and sacrifice for others, or is it my striving to work for God? It should be none of these—what ought to exert the greatest power in my life is the atonement of the Lord. It is not on what we spend the greatest amount of time that molds us the most, but whatever exerts the most power over us. We must make a determination to limit and concentrate our desires and interests on the atonement by the Cross of Christ."
(From My Utmost for His HighestUpdated Edition)
Words of wisdom-
~ When we're under God's favor, we find our work is blessed.
~ As we do our assigned work, God breathes on us and our natural becomes supernaturally productive ways that bless us and glorify Him.
Today's popular post-
Dr. Wesley L. Duewel: The Spirit empowers you to pray. "Do you feel you have so little prayer power? Of course, you do. None of us has prayer power in ourselves."
List of recent sermons of CFC ministers. CFC Potsdam NY church has a live service at 10 am Sunday's for shut-ins. If for some reason you can't make it to the church you usually attend, click on the above link, and still get fed!
Helpful ways the Lord helped me in my marriage
Upcoming posts-
#12 Obtaining the Power
7th- Thursday's post by Andrew Murray
Pursue Your Calling
9th- Saturday's post by Mary Southerland
#13 Reigning In Him
12th- Tuesday's post by Andrew Murray
#14 Drawing Near to God
14th- Thursday's post by Andrew Murray
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