What are you praying for?
What do you really want in life?
What does “blessing” really mean to you?
Sit with those questions for a moment before you read on.
I’ve been reading through the opening of Ephesians — slowly, ideally a few times over — and letting it hold my prayers up to the light. As you read it, ask yourself: what am I really asking for when I pray? And do you notice any difference between your prayers and Paul’s?
Paul begins by describing the blessings God has already given us in Christ. And they may not be the “blessings” we instinctively think of first.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in union with Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as He chose us who are in union with him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish in His presence. He did this in love by deciding in advance that we would be adopted through Jesus Christ for Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, which He graciously gave us in the Beloved One.
In union with him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished on us with all wisdom and insight. He has made known to us the sacred secret of His will according to His good pleasure that He planned beforehand in connection with him, with a view toward the administration that will occur at the culmination of the times, to unite under one head all things in connection with Christ — the things in the heavens and the things on the earth in connection with him.
In union with him we also were claimed as God’s possession because we were chosen in advance according to the plan of the one who is working all things according to the purpose of His will, so that we who first hoped in Christ would be God’s possession, to the praise of His glory. In union with him you also, when you heard the message of truth — the good news of your salvation — and when you believed in him, you were marked with a seal — the promised holy spirit — which is the down payment of our inheritance, until our redemption as God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
Because of this I also, after hearing of your trust in the Lord Jesus and the love that you have for all the holy ones, do not stop giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, praying that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, will give you spiritual wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him — since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened — so that you will know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance that will be shared among the holy ones, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, which is the same working of his mighty strength that he worked in Christ when he raised him from among the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above every ruler and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come; and he put all things in subjection under his feet and appointed him as the head over all things related to the church, which is his body — the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.” — Ephesians 1:3–23 (REV)
Be Honest About Your List
If I’m honest, my prayers are quite often more like a shopping list for health, wealth, and comfort — scattered with thanks and platitudes — than an express desire for greater spiritual wisdom and revelation.
Scripture certainly encourages us to bring our needs before God. But look at where the weight of Paul’s prayer actually falls: wisdom, revelation, knowledge of God, hope, inheritance, power. Not a single item on the list is a circumstance he wants changed. Every one of them is God himself, more fully known.
Nor is Paul unique in this emphasis. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, the priorities were similarly centred on God’s name, God’s kingdom, and God’s will.
“Our Father, who is in heaven, may your name be treated as holy. May your kingdom come. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the Wicked One.” — Matthew 6:9–13 (REV)
So What Are You Praying For?
There is clearly nothing wrong with bringing our desires before God, including our needs for daily health, provision, and comfort. Jesus tells us to ask for our daily bread. But let us take to heart the exhortation in Colossians 3:
“Since, then, you were raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think about the things that are above, not the things that are on the earth, for you died and your life has been hidden with Christ in the presence of God, but when Christ — your life — appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” — Colossians 3:1–4 (REV)
A Blessing
My friends — may the God and Father of our Lord Jesus indeed richly bless you, the adopted children of God, with every spiritual blessing in Christ. May he give you spiritual wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of him, sealed with the holy spirit, so that you will know the hope, the inheritance, and the power we are called to in union with Christ Jesus, the appointed king of the universe.