When the Lord asked Solomon to request anything his heart desired, Solomon asked for wisdom. I hope in the same situation I would ask for wisdom and not a perpetually clean house!
Seriously though, there could be no greater gift than to more fully understand the Lord. As we grow in our walk with him through Bible Study and prayer our eyes are opened to more truth and knowledge of him, even though we will never have full understanding this side of heaven. The more we walk in the Holy Spirit and follow his leading in our lives, the closer we will come to understanding God and his plan for us. Although Paul had just praised the Ephesians, he knew that they could attain greater heights in their wisdom and understanding of God. No matter how advanced we become in the faith there are still mysteries to uncover and spiritual truths to be revealed to us.
So often we chase the things of this world and find we have no time to cultivate our relationship with Jesus. We read self help and fiction books from the Christian section instead of meditating on the Book and finding our sufficiency in the person of Jesus Christ. Let’s strip away the trappings of “religion” and instead grow in wisdom and revelation of the Triune God!
I don't think that the man of God's job is just to pray for the broken legs and the broken arms and the bad backs and the diseases of his people. I think he is to pray that they as it says in verse 17 would receive a "spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, that the eyes of their understanding would be enlightened; that they would know what is the hope of their calling." It's not enough just to teach, it must be taught and then prayed in as it were by the energy of the Spirit of God released as a response to intercessory prayer. – John MacArthur
Amen. That is the one thing I pray for most for my grandchildren as well as the rest of my family (and me). SO foundational to everything.
ReplyDeleteThe commentary and quote are really insightful.
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