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.
~ Ephesians 1:17 ~
Several years ago, during a time of prayer and study, God prompted my heart that the book of Ephesians was the book I should study regarding my someday marriage. As I've read through it several times, I can see how it makes a wonderful guide for a husband and wife! In fact, when Isaac and I were dating, and he was going through his wilderness, I used to read the entire book aloud every night as a prayer over his life.
Last month, one of my devos in Sparkling Gems from the Greek talked about this particular verse, and as I studied it, God drew me to commit it to memory. And so...it becomes verse number three. And to be honest, I don't think it's coincidental that I'm studying it during the Valentine's Day season.
Here are some things that stuck out to me as I ripped apart the verse and did a word study:
* I keep asking...Sometimes I get tired of praying for things. You ever feel that way? You ask and ask and ask...and wonder if God is even listening? But this verse reminds me - to keep asking.
* may give you... When I read about this verse in the devotional book, the author said this word "give" means to hand something over completely to someone else. To impart. When I think about praying this verse for my husband, this reminds me that the wisdom and direction he will need to find me in the first place...and then to lead me...is going to be given to him by the Lord. Imparted to him. Handed over to him. And likewise, the wisdom I will need to serve beside him will be given to me by the same Father. Changes my perspective a bit. It's not something I have to control!
* wisdom...The author of the devo said that this word means insight not naturally attained. God will give Mr. Missing and me a sort of supernatural insight regarding our life, love, and ministry, if we will open our hearts to receive it!
* revelation... This explanation was my favorite. The author said it means something veiled for a long time and suddenly, instantaneously made clear. He even went so far as to describe it as a person who stands in front of a window with a curtain drawn over it. He said when revelation occurs, it's like the curtain is pulled away and the person can see the view that has been on the other side of the window the entire time.
* so that you may know him better. The entire point of all of this is not personal gain - but to know the Lord better (AND BETTER!). If God is going to take the time to issue wisdom and revelation to me...to draw back curtains and give me an insight I could not have had without His intervention...He's going to desire that I use that to know HIM better, not to become some overly proud smarty pants.
So this verse is actually my prayer - for myself and for the man I will marry. I commit to KEEP PRAYING for God to GIVE us WISDOM and REVELATION even now so that we can work to KNOW HIM BETTER AND BETTER both now and when we come together as life partners.
And all of this makes me think of a song I have come to dearly love in the last few weeks. It's also a prayer I have for the man I'll marry, and I think it fits with this verse very well. The song is by Sanctus Real and is called Lead Me.
No comments:
Post a Comment