I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in all 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 … (Ephesians 1:16-19)
 
As Paul prays for the Ephesian Christians, he has his eyes firmly fixed on the unseen and the eternal.  What a difference from the way we normally pray for one another!  My small group has committed to praying this prayer of Paul’s for each other during the remainder of our year together.  We have each written a personal paraphrase of Ephesians 1:16-23 to clarify for ourselves what we are praying.  Here is a sample:
 
Glorious heavenly Father, God of the Lord Jesus Christ, I lift up (name) to You and thank You for how You are at work in her.  Give her a mind ready to receive wisdom and insight to know more of You: Open the eyes of her heart to the truth of the great hope you are calling her to. Reveal to her the great and glorious riches of her inheritance. Let her see the full extent of Your power available to those who believe.
 
I encourage you to make Paul’s prayer your own and pray it for yourself, your family, and our church.
 
Here are some other ideas for prayer this week:
 
1.  I’ve heard the news about our Christian brothers and sisters being persecuted and martyred by Islamic terrorists like ISIS and Boko Haram.  I’ve heard about the 21 Coptic Christians from Egypt beheaded in Libya and the hundreds of Christians kidnapped in Syria.  I hear this disturbing news and think, That’s terrible.  But I have failed to take the next step and really pray for my fellow believers.  I am ashamed to say that in 18 months of writing this blog, I have called for prayer for our persecuted brethren only twice.  Pray, How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until You judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge [their] blood?  (Revelation 6:10)  Pray Paul’s prayer, above, for them, because a fuller understanding of God will help them stand strong in their circumstances.  Pray that the Lord will grab hold of some of the terrorists and transform them, as He did when Saul became Paul.
 
2.  The Lord has lifted Shelley Hendrickson from the gates of death (Psalm 9:13) and carried her to be with Him in heaven after a long struggle with cancer.  Praise God for her faith through this long trial and pray that it will lead her unbelieving brother and sister-in-law to consider the claims of Christ.
 
3.  Stan Curlee’s 93-year-old father passed away yesterday.  Ask the Lord for comfort and for safe travels as the Curlee family travels to Alabama for the funeral.
 
4.  Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.   (Psalm 39:4)
 
5.  Next Saturday is Calvary’s second annual Serve Day.  Pray that everyone involved, whether serving someone from our church family or serving in the community, will display the love that should characterize Christians.  Pray that our work, our attitudes, and our speech will glorify our Father.  Pray that our eagerness to serve will not be limited to this day only, that the Lord will open our eyes to needs around us throughout the year.
 
6.  Speaking of serving, pray that everyone who considers Calvary his or her home church will find a place to serve in our church on a regular basis.
 
7.  I’m all ears, Lord.  Speak to me about things that are on Your heart but not mine.