I Prayed For You

ByJim Stephens

Reading:  Ephesians 1; Psalm 93

16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, 17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. 18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. 19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. 21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. 23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself. (Ephesians 1:16–23 (NLT)

This morning as I was reading Ephesians 1 for the fifth day in a row, I stopped right here and prayed for you! I thought, “If Paul can pray for the people far away in Ephesus who would soon be reading his letter, I can pray for friends and readers around the world who will click on this email, or on a Twitter or Facebook link, or who will receive this devotional as a forward from a friend!” So I prayed for you!

I thank God for you! I thank God for readers, some of whom I know and can picture right now, and many others I will never meet, who are reading these words somewhere far away from me!

I thank God for you and I pray for you:

  • That God will give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you will grow and keep growing in your true knowledge of God, who loves us so!
  • That your heart will be flooded with light so you will be filled with confident hope—hope for today, hope for tomorrow, hope for eternity!
  • That you will get a fresh glimpse, a clearer picture, a greater understanding of the incredible greatness of God’s power directed toward you—for your good and not harm, for your blessing and not for your hurt.
  • That the same resurrection power that raised Christ from the dead will breathe (or blast!) new life, new hope, new joy, new energy, new possibilities, into your mind and heart and emotions and conversations and relationships and expectations!

In the Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, I am praying for you today!  I encourage you to use the list of things Paul and I prayed and pray those same things for friends and family and others you love, far and near! Amen!