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Knowing Him Better

Words of Faith Final

Knowing Him Better

Words of Faith 1-25-2021

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2021

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

www.faithfellowshipweb.com

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Ephesians 1

[17] I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

 

     In Christian circles, we often use a special phrase to describe a believer in Christ.  We will say that he or she “knows the Lord.”  It is an important statement.  It is a phrase that speaks of relationship rather than religion.  It speaks of a personal relationship rather than membership in a group or denomination.  We find comfort in knowing that the babysitter we just hired “knows the Lord” or, for that matter, the new boss at work, or the neighbor that just moved in.  But the description often stops there.

     It is interesting that in secular settings, we are more particular. A recommendation form for a job or scholarship will always ask: How well do you know the candidate?  For how long?  In what sort of relationship? Some that I have filled out will ask: How often do you see this person and speak with them in person? The same sorts of questions are asked in a court of law.

      In our Christian circles, we tend not to ask much more.  It seems intrusive to do so, but it is not. Instead, we often assume that if a person “knows the Lord," then, well, they know the Lord. Paul was not so convinced.

      It was not that Paul proposed for believers to interrogate one another.  Instead, he prayed. Have you noticed that prayer is always the best conversation to have first? His prayer for the Ephesian believers assumed that a relationship with Jesus is more than just a meeting that occurred one time at an altar, or in a prayer.  Paul prayed that the Ephesians might know Him, God, better.

      How? How do we know God better?  Paul prayed for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, the Holy Spirit, to be given to these believers by the Father.  This was not a one-time prayer.  Paul prayed this repeatedly.  He kept praying for the gift of God’s Holy Spirit to bring wisdom and revelation so that they might know Him better.

      Know whom better?  Well, interestingly, this is a triune verse.  God is all over the place--Father, Son, and Spirit.  Paul prayed to the Lord that the glorious Father would give the Spirit.  But don’t miss this--it is by the wisdom and revelation of the Spirit that we come to know the Lord better.

      Now, don’t misunderstand.  This isn’t some sort of revelation that takes the place of Scripture, as some are in the practice of teaching.  This is wisdom and revelation that is submitted to Scripture and which enlightens Scripture. 

      This prayer's goal is a deeper understanding of God Himself that happens as the Spirit gives us wisdom and revelation.  If we listen, He will gently teach us in any and every moment of our day. As we walk with Him, He will reveal Himself to us even as He reveals Truth to us.  Life becomes a conversation with the Spirit in which we pray without ceasing, not formal prayers or liturgies, but the conversations of wisdom and revelation.

      In this way, we grow to answer differently about this relationship.  How well do you know Him?  How often do you see Him?  In what sort of relationship? How often do you speak with Him?

      So, this is my prayer for you today, dear friend, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know Him better.

 

     Glorious Father, this is my prayer for believers--friends and teachers, relatives and acquaintances, members of the Body in the Lord.  I pray for those near and far that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that they may know Him better.  I pray for my own walk and relationship with You.  Give me, O God, Your Spirit of wisdom and revelation that I may know You better and better.  In the Name of Jesus.

 

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2010, 2021

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)       

2820 Business Center Blvd.

Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.