“ 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” Ephesians 1:18-29).
This prayer of the Apostle Paul is an incredible prayer, in it, he prays that the eyes of our hearts may be opened to perceive, to know, to realize, what is the hope of God’s calling, what are the riches of God’s inheritance, what is the immeasurable greatness of God’s power, towards those who believe.
In a simpler vernacular, he is praying that we might get it! Get what? That we might come to understand treasures that are ours in Christ. The scriptures tell us again and again who we are in Christ and what we possess as His children. Earlier in the Ephesians text we have been told that every spiritual blessing is ours in Christ. The Apostle Peter told us that we have been granted, in Christ, everything that pertains to life and godliness. We are the recipients of all of God’s good and gracious promises.
These statements are significant statements. The Apostle does not want us to miss them, so he prays that the eyes of our hearts would be enlighten, that we would truly understand what it is that God has provided for His children in Christ.
I live in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, not far from Lake Tahoe, the largest Alpine Lake in North America. I often compare this incredible body of water to God’s vast provision for His children. But, sadly to say, all too many of His children are kneeling at the shore of the lake drawing from its immense resource with a soda straw. A sip here, a sip there, when, all the while the trillions of gallons of water are ours in Christ.
That’s why Paul prays that we might get it! That we might begin to embrace and claim the resources that are ours in Christ. God is not a miserly skinflint but a gracious Father who has provided us with everything we will ever need in regard to life and godliness (II Peter 1:3).
The incredible resources of God belong to you, child of God in Christ! Are you claiming them?