Because Love Is Based On Knowledge

I have been told many times that a Christian who desires new depth of intimacy with God and deeper insight about His person ought to pray Ephesians 1:17. A study of the letters Apostle Paul wrote to the churches revealed a consistent theme and this theme was important enough to get mentioned in the first few verses of the first chapters. It is that Paul never, ever ceased to pray for the churches and he never ceased to tell them so. 

 

That we may see Him and love what we see

Often, the nature of his prayers for them reflected the strengths and weaknesses of each church but regardless of what (or who) they were, he consistently prayed for them.

Indeed, praying Ephesians 1:17 is a good way to go. It talks a lot about the knowledge of God’s will and nature. And we all agree ((I hope) that knowing God accurately is important. Why? Because love is based on knowledge. To the romantics for whom ‘love at first sight’ is ultimate, know that regardless of how intense the attraction and chemistry between two perfect strangers get, the death or survival of that relationship depends on what both parties later come to know about each other.

So, while Paul prayed for them to know God, it could be seen as a means for them to love Him as they ought to. The cause of many warped theology today is the result of a warped image of God. On one spectrum are those who see a God totally full of wrath and dread, seeking to enforce His Omnipotent interests on humanity and not hesitant to punish the insubordinate. On the other end of the spectrum are those who see God as a happy, love struck, spineless, doting grandfather. Now, if God were either of both, ‘believers’ are the most miserable of all men and to be pitied. 

Whatever your knowledge of God is, pray to see Him more as He truly is. Then, you wouldn’t be able to help but love Him, the perfect fusion of Love, Power and Wisdom.

Find in three points the prayers of Paul extracted from the book of Ephesians. The next few posts will share extracted prayers from other epistles.

1.      That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ may give me the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. That I may know:

·         What is the hope to which He has called me.

·         What are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints.

·         What is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward me who believe, according to the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead…

2.      That God will grant me according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in my inner man.

3.       That Christ may dwell in my heart by faith; that me, being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, length, depth and height, and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, THAT I MAY BE FILLED WITH THE FULLNESS OF GOD

May God help us to see Him, to know Him, the Source of all life and as we see Him, may we like love what we see. Amen.

PS: These prayer points have been personalised. You may wish to copy them directly from the Bible, pray them for yourself and for others.

My question for you

What prayer points have you shamelessly dubbed from The Bible?

Blessings,

Miss August

Picture from www.sparkpeople.com