I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will 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 surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places. Ephesians 1:18-20
In today’s Scripture the Apostle Paul tells the Ephesian believers how he prays for them. He begins by saying that he prays that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.” The Scriptures open the eyes of our “understanding” so that we grasp with clarity what it means for Christ to be the Savior of the world and why we absolutely need Christ as our Savior from sin. However, there is no opening of the eyes of our “understanding” in these ways without the opening of the eyes of our “heart.” For those who have truly come to Christ for Salvation, the Holy Spirit did
the wonderful work of opening their hearts and minds so that they understood and embraced Christ and received the glorious gift of redemption.
In praying that the eyes of his reader’s hearts will be enlightened, the Apostle Paul is asking God to help them come to know, both in their understanding and experience, the fullness of Christ and all that is theirs because of the relationship they have with him through redemption. Fullness is the key thought here. The Ephesian believers have already received the gift of redemption in Christ. Paul is praying for a further work of the Holy Spirit so that they may enter more deeply and fully into all that they have in Christ.
As believers in Christ this is our need as well. Read the passage again and note the things that we have in Christ. Come before the Lord in Prayer and say each item you found in the passage (ex: “the hope of his calling”) and ask God to open the eyes of your heart in regard to it. Continue on in quietness before him and let God help you with both your understanding and experience of it.
Write out a description of your prayer experience today. Come back to it somewhere down the line and assess how God has been at work helping you enter more deeply and fully into all that you have in Christ.
