Paul’s incarcerations placed a lot of time on his hands time he filled with prayer. Those prayers were not passive activities but togetherness with God during which Paul received infusions of things like the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. He knew God better from those times and expanded that knowledge into building blocks of prayer for the First Century congregations. That is, he learned about God from time in prayer and then turned that learning into specific prayers. Letters like this one to the Ephesian church give us glimpses into these scenes.
18 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, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, (Ephesians 1:18-19a–ESV)
Good Spirits: Building blocks of wisdom and revelation
In the lead up to this 18th verse1, Paul wrote of how he implored God to give the Ephesian Christians the dual spirits of wisdom and revelation. Paul wanted those believers to perceive the way God looks at circumstances. That perception, that viewpoint comes by revelation. Paul was praying like this, “God, please give the Ephesians a Spirit of revelation that they might know you.” [Read more…] about Ephesians 1:18-19a>>Building blocks: Hope, Riches, Power