Ephesians 1:11-23 (CEB) 

We have also received an inheritance in Christ. We were destined by the plan of God, who accomplishes everything according to his design. We are called to be an honor to God’s glory because we were the first to hope in Christ. You too heard the word of truth in Christ, which is the good news of your salvation. You were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit because you believed in Christ. The Holy Spirit is the down payment on our inheritance, which is applied toward our redemption as God’s own people, resulting in the honor of God’s glory.

Since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, this is the reason that I don’t stop giving thanks to God for you when I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, will give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation that makes God known to you. I pray that the eyes of your heart will have enough light to see what is the hope of God’s call, what is the richness of God’s glorious inheritance among believers, and what is the overwhelming greatness of God’s power that is working among us believers. This power is conferred by the energy of God’s powerful strength. God’s power was at work in Christ when God raised him from the dead and sat him at God’s right side in the heavens, far above every ruler and authority and power and angelic power, any power that might be named not only now but in the future. God put everything under Christ’s feet and made him head of everything in the church, which is his body. His body, the church, is the fullness of Christ, who fills everything in every way.

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians provides us with a great foundation for praying for one another. As I reflect upon this Lectionary passage for this week, I am reminded that the South Central Jurisdictional Conference begins tomorrow. Let us lift our prayers for our Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. and for Rev. Dee Williamston, who is a candidate for bishop. May God’s plan for each of them be for His glory and for the transformation of the world for Jesus Christ.  

I want to challenge each of us with Paul’s prayer. Will you join me in praying for one another over the next seven days? May we pray for: 

• a spirit of wisdom and revelation 
• that the eyes of your (our) heart will have enough light to see the hope of God’s call 
• that the richness of God’s glorious inheritance will shine among believers 
• for eyes to see God’s power working among us believers 

Prayer for Reflection

Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
Psalm 119:137-144
Isaiah 1:10-18
Psalm 32:1-7
2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12
Luke 19:1-10