Praying the Blessings of Faith For Others

I was struck by the words of the Epistle Lesson read in worship at St. John Lutheran Church on Sunday, May 21. The readings we used in worship that day were those assigned for Ascension Day, the previous Thursday. Ascension Day is an important, if somewhat forgotten event in the life and faith of God’s church. I was struck by the prayer which God inspired Paul to write about and to pray for the Christians in Ephesus. Please consider this prayer with me. “16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 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. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:16-19 a)

As I have grown in faith in my Lord, Jesus, and as I have seen His wise and loving answer to my prayers, I pray regularly for many others. Many of my prayers are for fellow children of God I know through St. John. I am thankful for God’s presence in the life of His people as we walk through the wilderness trials of this world. I pray God blesses those I pray for whom I pray.

The phrase in this reading that caught my attention, which caught my imagination, was verse 18. “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints” We think of our eyes allowing us to see physically and to examine the world around us. I consider that the eyes in my head help me to understand and to think. But, “eyes of my heart?” What an unusual description!

Perhaps you remember that Jesus quotes Isaiah in teaching about people who see, but do not perceive, who do not understand. (Matthew 13:13-17) Jesus faced such hard hearts in His day, and it still happens today. Sometimes, even when confronted with the truth of God’s creative power and of our Lord’s saving love for us in Jesus, some choose not to believe. Perhaps God’s truth does not fit their world view. Perhaps they do not want a “god” telling them how to live their lives. Perhaps life has hurt them so badly they cannot believe that God could actually be good. We pray for ourselves that our heart and soul and mind are open to our Lord, open to God’s wisdom, to Jesus’ saving love. That is what Paul prays for his friends and fellow family in the kingdom of God.

Every morning I pray for my family. I pray for my wife Kathy. I pray for my children, Josh, Andy, Mary, and Tim and for those in their lives. I also pray for my grandchildren, for Jake and Jackson, for Emma and Kendall, for Henry and Annie. I pray that they live with an active faith in Jesus their savior. Perhaps I am praying Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints” When I pray for others who are not blood family, but are members of the family of God, as I ask God’s help and blessings, perhaps it is the same prayer.

Think what it means that the eyes of our hearts are open to the hope to which God calls us. The answer to this prayer means seeing the beauty and the order in the world around me, and knowing that God created this world. To see the hope to which I am called means knowing and believing that God made me to be the unique, special person that I am. For the eyes of my heart to be opened to God’s hope means knowing that I have selfishly rebelled and sinned against my loving Lord and Creator, but that He loved me so much that He sent Jesus, because I was lost in my sin. For the eyes of my heart to be open to the hope to which God calls me means knowing that God is with me through the wilderness trials of this life, and it means that God saves me from judgment and death for eternal life in heaven. To know this hope changes my whole perspective on life. When I pray that my family may be active in their lives of faith, I am praying all these blessings, and for a godly world-view and perspective on life.

When we see the hope to which God calls us, it changes how we see our world, and our place in the world. As the angel told Mary, “For nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37)

Is there something about which you would like me to pray for you?