Ephesians 1:15-23 (ICB)

^15-16 That is why I always remember you in my prayers and always thank God for you. I have always done this since the time I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people. ¹⁷ I always pray to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ—to the glorious Father. I pray that he will give you a spirit that will make you wise in the knowledge of God—the knowledge that he has shown you. ¹⁸ I pray that you will have greater understanding in your heart. Then you will know the hope that God has chosen to give us. I pray that you will know that the blessings God has promised his holy people are rich and glorious. ¹⁹ And you will know that God’s power is very great for us who believe. That power is the same as the great strength ²⁰ God used to raise Christ from death and put him at his right side in heaven. ²¹ God made Christ more important than all rulers, authorities, powers, and kings. Christ is more important than anything in this world or in the next world. ²² God put everything under his power. And God made him the head over everything for the church. ²³ The church is Christ’s body. The church is filled with Christ, and Christ fills everything in every way.

In the book to Ephesians Paul is focused on God’s plan of reconciliation: bringing things together, mending relationships between us and God, us and other people, us and the world itself.  As part of this process Paul is praying for the Ephesians/followers of Christ.

Paul is asking God to give us, followers of Jesus, more knowledge of God. He wants us to understand more about God and what God has given us.

He is asking for believers to know the hope that God has given us. Our hope is in God’s plan: putting things back together: turning enemies into friends, make everything right, reconcile all things to Him.

Next Paul is praying for us to know that the blessings God has promised are rich and glorious. Paul wants us to know how amazing God’s promises really are. The whole world made right.

And finally, Paul prays that we would know God’s power. Paul does not mean about God’s power. He means experience God’s power, he wants us to see it showing up in our lives. Like seeing people get healed, or becoming super brave, or giving speeches even in other languages on the Day of Pentecost after receiving the mark of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:12-14). God’s power shows up in lots of different ways. So, this is not a promise that everybody will be healed or give speeches in in different languages. But if we follow Jesus, God’s power, the same power that raised Jesus from the grave, will change our life. It’s pretty amazing!