“that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe…”

This incredible prayer has a purpose. Verse 15 begins with ‘for this reason’. The purpose of this prayer is to bring about our being ‘to the praise of His glory’ – the purpose of the saints expounded in the first half of the chapter.

Paul prays for the Ephesian saints first and foremost that they might by their lives glorify God. He doesn’t pray for health, wealth, success, personal fulfillment, or any other thing that has us at its centre; rather he prays for more important things.

Paul prays for that which is outside of ourselves – a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. Our being to the praise of His glory begins with His revelation of Himself by His Spirit to us.

The eyes of our hearts need to be enlightened – an external source – to see, more than see, to know the hope to which He has called us. We need to understand

1. The riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints – His riches, His inheritance.

2. The immeasureable greatness of His power in us – that same power that has already been displayed in Christ!

This is all in order to display His nature in us; to make us the men and women that God planned us to be from before the foundation of the world – serving God for His glory, not serving self. Only in this are we truly fulfilled, completely fulfilled in Him.