Often times, our prayers comprise of the needs and struggles that we face in our lives. We forget that praying is also a time when we can give thanks and glorify God for the many blessings He has given to us.

Ephesus was a rich and prosperous port city, with many trade routes passing through it. As a result, the Ephesians were mostly rich and living a luxurious life. This prompted the Apostle Paul to pray for the believers living in Ephesus to remind them that they too were rich in their salvation. From his prayer (Eph 1:15-28) for the Ephesians, we can learn the following:

1. Ephesians 1:15-16: Paul rejoiced and gave thanks to God for the Ephesian Christians’ faith in the Lord Jesus. Salvation is a gift from God which can only be received by faith. Having received this salvation by faith, we must always be thankful to God because we do not deserve this blessing. God has given us this salvation because He loves us; and this love of Christ must cause us to love one another by faith.

2. Ephesians 1:17: Paul then prayed that the Ephesian Christians will grow in wisdom and understanding of God and His truth, and not remain stagnant in their spiritual state. He prayed that they be filled with the Holy Spirit, who will enable them to understand God’s Word. And when they obey God’s Word, they will see and experience God working in their lives. They will know God in a more personal and intimate way. As believers, we must pray repeatedly for the Holy Spirit to teach and guide us in our study of God’s Word so that we will be able to know the mind, desire and will of God for us. We must then be quick to obey God, pleasing Him as we live according to His will.

3. Ephesians 1:18: Paul prayed that the Ephesian Christians will know what the hope of God’s calling is, and what the riches of the glory of God’s inheritance are. Our hope is eternal and not in the temporal things of this world. This hope is infinitely more precious than the things of this world as we will have eternal joy and glory in the Lord.