Ephesians 1:15-19a: For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 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. I pray also 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 the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.In these verses is recorded one of the prayers of Paul for the church at Ephesus. This week we will examine verses 15 and 16.
For this reason. For what reason does Paul offer prayer for the church at Ephesus? The preceding verses tell the story.
Upon the church at Ephesus, God had lavished the riches of his grace. He had made known to them the mystery of his will. He had chosen them according to his plan and purpose, so that they might be to the praise of his glory. He sealed them with the earnest of the Holy Spirit.
Paul saw the hand of God at work in them. He saw their place in the purpose of God. For that reason Paul gave continual thanks to God for the church at Ephesus. For that reason Paul remembered this church in his prayers.
That next phrase of note is when Paul said, I have not stopped. Paul had not stopped giving thanks for the church at Ephesus. Paul had not stopped remembering them in his prayers.
To continue being faithful and obedient to God puts you in a position to succeed. Sometimes you don't see the promise of God fulfilled with the natural eye, but as you refuse to stop standing in faith, the Scripture says we will reap if we faint not, or if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)
A spiritual war is raging. The blood of Jesus has assured us the victory, but there are still times that we must stand in faith and not faint until the answer is seen in the natural realm.
Take the example of the propeht Daniel found in the tenth chapter of the book of Daniel. Daniel sought the Lord for revelation. He had participated in a partial fast for three weeks. The angel of the Lord comes to Daniel at the end of the three weeks with the revelation he desired.
Here is the key lesson in the chapter. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.
God hears and answers prayers immediately. But there is a war in the heavenlies, and sometimes we must wait patiently in faith for the answer.
But many times believers will stop the force of faith, and just assume that God did not want to answer their prayer. Casting away the confidence of your faith will stop the answer. To cast away the confidence of your faith is spiritual abortion. You have aborted the process necessary to bring the answer to your prayer.
If Daniel had stopped his fast, and if he had said, "I guess God doesn't want me to know the answer. It must not be his will." His actions would have stopped the angel's journey to bring him revelation.
This is serious business. Your faith in God and in his word makes a difference.
Be strong in God and in his Word. Don't throw away the confidence of your faith, but stand firm in God. The answer will come.
Wayne L. Williams
wayne@fotwm.org