Prayer for Wisdom and Revelation: Ephesians 1:15-23
In this episode, Pastor Jim Thomas walks us through one of Paul’s most powerful prayers in the book of Ephesians. Rather than praying for health, success, or circumstances to change, Paul prays that believers receive a spirit of wisdom and revelation, to know God more deeply, walk in hope, and grasp the fullness of Christ’s authority and power.
In This Episode:
Discover what it means to have the eyes of your heart enlightened. Reflect on the hope, inheritance, and power we have in Christ. Learn how Paul’s prayer can shape your own spiritual priorities. See how the resurrection power of God is at work in believers today. Celebrate Christ as the head of the Church, filling all in all.
Paul’s Prayer for the Church:
Paul moves from praise to prayer for his readers. You can learn much about someone when you hear them pray. His intercession focuses not on external change but on internal transformation—knowing God, embracing hope, and grasping divine power. His prayer challenges us to reframe our desires and align them with eternal realities.
“Prayer is beyond any questions the highest activity of the human soul. Man is at his greatest and highest when, upon his knees, he comes face to face with God.”
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
Gratitude and giving thanks, as Paul models, leads the heart into joy and worship.
Four Expressions of Divine Power (Greek Terms):
Paul uses four Greek words to describe the strength God exerted to raise Christ and make that same power available to us:
- Dunamis – Capability or potential power
- Energeia – Effective, operational power
- Kratos – Power exercised in resistance or dominion
- Ischus – Inherent, vital strength
The Trilogy of Christ’s Victorious Work:
- The Crucifixion – Accomplished the victory
- The Resurrection – Confirms the victory
- The Ascension – Perpetuates the victory
Paul lived in constant awareness of Christ’s resurrection power, and called others to live with the same eternal perspective.
“As only God can create, only God can renew his whole creation. It started with the resurrection of Jesus—one new thing that changes everything. In lives transformed by the Spirit of Christ, we have a foretaste of the new future.”
Richard Bauckham
