Daily Devotion February 12

February 12: Ephesians 1:15-21

KJV Key Verse: Ephesians 1:18
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

Devotion:
I love the prayers that the apostle lists for the various churches and people in his letters; but some of them may take a bit of time to see how much he puts into them. I think most of the time my prayers are on a much simpler level with God as I talk with Him on a personal level; but there comes a time when you too have to stop and think about what you are praying for and about. Going through the various letters in our bibles helps us to have a deeper relationship with God as we see the relationship the apostle had with Him.

Prayers can be a very personal thing between you and God alone or they can be shared with congregations or even wider groups. Prayers can be as simple as a cry for help or peace or for something far greater as we strive to do more for God in our lives or communities. Never underestimate the power of prayer though because it is through prayer that God brings us so much. Right from the very earliest pages in our bibles we see how man has talked with God and how God has answered in a variety of ways – but every time we see God answering in one way or another.

The apostle knew that he could not be in all places at the same time to take care of all the people he had reached, taught, loved and cared for; so he constantly lifted them up to God in prayer. When we cannot be there for people or with them we can be sure that God is with them as we lift them up in prayer. Your love toward them can be expressed through your prayers and God will honour those prayers in a righteous and just manner.

We may think that God does not always answer prayers but sometimes we are not really asking Him but telling Him to do stuff or even blackmailing Him into something. Would you care to answer people’s requests if they were blackmailing you or throwing abuse toward you? I think not! Why then do we expect God to answer our abuse? Keep your prayers honest and open and full of love just as Christ has taught the apostles and us in turn…

Points to Ponder:
Do you pray often?

Are you fair in your prayers?