Open the Eyes of my Heart, Lord
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Are there people in your life who pray for you? I am blessed to have people in my life who pray for me every day - my parents, friends, and colleagues. Every so often, I get an email or a text message from a dear friend just to say, “I prayed for you today,” and I find that so encouraging. It tells me I’m not alone. It tells me that my friend is thinking about me, that my friend cares for me. It tells me that faithful people are bringing me to God’s attention, and that’s a good feeling.
In Ephesians 1.17-19, Paul tells the Christians in Ephesus about his prayer for them. He’ll remind them several times in this letter that he prays for them, but I find this prayer fascinating. He prays:
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength.
The way Paul phrased this prayer really resonates with me. I like the image of the eyes of my heart being enlightened. In this case, Paul prays that this enlightenment will show them three things: the hope that comes from being called by God, the inheritance that we have as God’s adopted children, and the incredible power of God at work through us. Hope, Inheritance, Power: I call this the HIP prayer.
As I look around Chapel Hill, I see a lot of people in need of hope. Folks struggling to pay the rent, battle-scarred addicts, broken-hearted lovers, unappreciated workers. God’s message is one of hope.
I see people who need to feel loved and appreciated. God adopts us as his children. He doesn’t let us in by the skin of our teeth and allow us to gratefully sit in the corner. He welcomes us to his home, his table, full-fledged children - heirs. God’s not going to die - the inheritance isn’t about something we’ll get someday. The beauty of it is that we have the rights of heirs in his household. We share the blessings of heiresses and heirs, beloved sons and daughters.
I see people in need of God’s power at work in their lives. God’s incredible power to change our hearts and our lives - far beyond what we could do on our own - is freely available to His children.
Where does this prayer catch you? Are you in need of hope? Are you longing to belong to a family? Are you weak and in need of power? God is eager to share all of these blessings with you.
I pray that the eyes of your heart will be open, and that you will see the Hope of His calling, the riches of His Inheritance, and the greatness of His Power at work in you.
Peace,
Matt