I have been looking forward to these verses all week. They are much deeper and richer after my years in isolation than they were before. I trust they will bless you as much as they have me!

Paul has been reminding the saints in Ephesus of who God is, what He has blessed them with, and who they are. Now, he gives us a glimpse into his prayers for them. These dear saints lived in an ungodly place. Paul himself was being held in prison. What was the focus of his prayer?

Before we go on, I want to take a moment to say that I truly believe we should take all of our needs to God in prayer as well as for those around us. These physical, mental, emotional, financial, etc. needs are important to God. God tells us to take everything to Him in prayer. (Matthew 6:9-13; 1 Thessalonians 5; Philippians 4; and many other verses). Please don’t misunderstand me as we move on to Paul’s prayer. I believe we need to pray for daily needs and struggles. Yet, there are deeper needs; Paul goes deeper.

Read Ephesians 1:17-19 again. Look at what Paul prays for them:

• He prays that God would give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. (verse 17)
• He prays that the perception of their mind would be enlightened to know the hope of God’s calling and the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints (us!). (verse 18)
• He prays that they would know the immeasurable greatness of His power to believers, based on the vastness of His strength. (verse 19)

Why is this so much more meaningful to me now than it was? Because isolation is hard mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I could look up and quote studies they have found of how loneliness and isolation affects people, affects mental health, affects physical health, and even affects life-expectancy. That may be helpful in painting a picture of the affects. However, we already know it takes a toll, a huge toll, for we live it daily.

Look at Paul’s prayer. He wants them to have a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God, to have their minds enlightened to know the hope and glorious riches, and to know His strength. Woah! Paul’s prayer hits the root of the struggle. Oh, the pain, exhaustion and weakness are hard in chronic illness/disability/care-giving. The daily strain of all resources being stretched is sometimes unbearable. Paul knows that there is even deeper need – the need for wisdom and knowledge of Him, hope, and strength. These three things will allow us to move forward in our distress, to overcome in our great battle despite the seemingly insurmountable mountains we face daily.

As we pray for each other, definitely lift up the physical, financial, etc. needs in prayer. Yet, let’s take it one step further. Let’s pray for each other as Paul prayed as well. I am praying these things for you today.