Ephesians 1:15–23 (NKJV)

Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may 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 exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

This entire passage is a single sentence in the Greek; it’s all one thought. Paul has been praying for them constantly, and what he’s been praying for is amazing.

It’s long, so let me abbreviate it to highlight the keys. Paul asks the Father to give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation … that you may know what is the hope of His calling … and what is the exceeding greatness of His power.

The tricky bit is that this is clearly written to Christians. Obviously, Paul isn’t asking for them to receive the Holy Spirit; they already have that. So, what’s Paul asking for?

Paul must be saying that you can have more of the Spirit. This makes sense in light of passages such as Ephesians 3:16-17, and Philippians 1:6.

The full ask is for God to, “give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding [literally, heart] being enlightened.”

So, God can give you more of the Holy Spirit. We can pray the same thing Paul prayed for – for ourselves and for others.

This is a normal prayer. We can ask God for more of the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, with the full expectation that God will grant our request

And look at the result. We get this so that you may 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 exceeding greatness of His power.

This is nothing less than kicking your walk with the Lord into a higher gear. That sounds like a no-brainer, but it shouldn’t be taken lightly.

It’s a commitment.

The weekly study guides, which include all five devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies