For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the 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, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.(Ephesians 1:15-23 ESV)
As you can see in this text, Paul is encouraging the church in Ephesus by reminding them that he is praying for them. What makes this text stand out, though, is the content of his prayer. He prays that the Ephesian believers would have the eyes of their hearts enlightened to see two things: (1) He wants them to know the hope that they now have, namely the glorious inheritance in the saints; (2) He also wants them to deeply understand what is the power towards believers.
The part of this text that blows me away is how Paul handles the power he is describing. Notice that he uses strong language to note that the power that is towards believers is the same power that: (1) Raised Christ for the dead. (2) Seated Him at the right hand of the Father, thereby placing above ALL names and things in this age and in the age to come. This very power is granted towards those who are in Christ! What an amazing thought. God's raising and glorifying power is directed towards the saints!
Here's another kicker though. Notice that when Paul is describing this power, He is NOT praying that God would give the church this power as if they were lacking it. Instead, he is praying that they would know this immeasurable power towards them. What this means is that regardless if they realize it or not, this power is already at work within them! Yes, there is a benefit to knowing of this power. After all, Paul prays that the believers would know that it's present in their lives, and there are obviously benefits for knowing what power one has. However, isn't it uplifting to know that even when we as believers don't feel or trust that we have any ounce of power, IT'S STILL THERE! Praise the One who doesn't base His lovingkindness and providence of power on whether or not we know or trust that it is working in our lives!
