Session 7

What happens when knowing God becomes the reason we pray

From Letters of Paul: 30-Day Bible Study

Think about the last time someone was unexpectedly generous toward you. When a coworker drops everything to join you in the waiting room, or a relative pays off your mission trip, it moves you to reach out.

Generosity does that. It compels us to ask why and to want to get to know the person behind the gift.

Ephesians 1:3 reminds us that every blessing we receive comes from God. He has been more generous toward us than we can ever fully comprehend. But we sure can have fun trying.

Paul’s prayer for the believers in Ephesus is that God’s immense generosity would draw them into a closer relationship with Him.

Paul prays for them and us, “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).

God invites us into an intimate, familial relationship — like that of a father and child. There is nothing we need that God can’t provide. None of our hurt or pain goes unnoticed. The same way that we delight in seeing our kids enjoy what we’ve provided to them, God delights in seeing us delight in Him.

Knowing God “chose us in him before the foundation of the world” should compel us to pray more, not less (Ephesians 1:4). Prayer is the way we get to know the generous, all-powerful God who adopted us as His kids.

Prayer can be more than a grocery list of wants and needs. Psalm 7 is a great example of this. When we approach prayer as a heartfelt conversation with our heavenly Father, prayer becomes a safe place to share our hopes, dreams, doubts, and fears.

Reflect:

• What does your prayer time look like? On a scale of 1 to 10, how honest are you with God?
  
• What’s one thing you haven’t talked openly with God about? Take a few minutes today to tell God what you really feel, then leave some space to listen to what your Dad has to say.