Pray to Know God, His Hope, and His Power

A Prayer for a Spiritually Intelligent People

People talk a lot these days about artificial intelligence. Some of it is good, some less so, and some of it is downright unsettling — lonely people who end up confiding in a chatbot, sinking into their own delusions, sometimes with tragic results. It's a current topic, a real cause for concern. But in Ephesians 1:15-19, Paul talks to you about a different kind of intelligence, one often overlooked in a world like ours : spiritual intelligence.

This kind of intelligence isn't something you're born with. Nor is it something you accumulate over time. It's a gift from God, produced in you through the effective working of the Holy Spirit. And it all begins with a prayer — the prayer of an apostle who, out of deep affection for a church he barely knows, gives thanks and asks immense things on its behalf. What Paul asks for the Ephesians, he asks for you too.

Working Through the Passage

1. An Apostle's Joy in Prayer: Faith and Love as the Measure of Success

"For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which you have toward all the saints, don't cease to give thanks for you, mentioning you in my prayers" (Ephesians 1:15-16). That's how it begins : the joy of an apostle praying for God's work in a church.

Paul isn't there in person. He doesn't have our modern conveniences for staying connected. And yet he's invested. Not just "from a distance," not just "sending good vibes." A real, spiritual investment, carried out through prayer. Though he's often pictured as harsh, ready to bring out the rod, the moment he hears of these believers' faith and love, he rejoices and gives thanks. He isn't even their local leader. But he still rejoices, because he's invested in God's kingdom, not in Paul's kingdom.

And here's a striking detail : for Paul, this church is a success. Every church has its struggles, and this one is no different. But Paul focuses on their faith and their love. He doesn't measure a church's success in numbers, programs, or volume. He measures it by the vitality of its faith and the warmth of its love. Biblically speaking, that may be the true indicator. If that were how you saw your own church, what would change? Do you mostly notice the little things that irritate you, or do you see first what's genuinely encouraging?

2. A Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation to Know God

"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him" (Ephesians 1:17). The first thing Paul asks for is a mind capable of understanding — a mind capable of knowing God.

And remember which God he's talking about : the Father who, before the foundation of the world, chose you to be predestined for adoption into his family (Ephesians 1:4-5). That God, that Father. Statements so vast that you absolutely need help climbing up to grasp them. That's why Paul prays : so that you would understand who God is.

Biblical wisdom isn't a pile of intellectual knowledge. It's lived intelligence. The book of Proverbs speaks in terms of behavior : you recognize the wise person by how they live. Knowing God, too, is something lived out and experienced. It's like spending time with someone : over the years, you learn which topics to avoid and which ones make them light up. That's experience. Living wisely means living in light of that knowledge.

Remember Ecclesiastes 3:11 : "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in their hearts, yet so that man can't find out the work that God has done from the beginning even to the end." That's wisdom. It teaches you that if the season you're living through is hard, it's a season of testing, not a curse. God makes everything beautiful in its time : you don't live as if you have no hope. And if the season you're living through is prosperous, it isn't because you've become God's favorite — it's because he gave you this moment. You know things will change, and you adjust your life accordingly. Knowing God, knowing how to adapt your life to the way he's leading you : that takes spiritual intelligence.

Paul also asks for a spirit of revelation, because things aren't as obvious as all that, especially in a physical, fallen world, while God himself is spirit. But the Father is a very good teacher. He's trustworthy, and by his Holy Spirit he knows exactly when it's time to reveal this or that to you. That's why you can read a passage a hundred times and then one day see something you'd never seen before.

It brings to mind a scene from C. S. Lewis's Prince Caspian, where Lucy meets Aslan again after some years. She tells him, "You're bigger." Aslan replies, "That is because you are older." In other words : the more you know God, the more time you spend with him, the bigger he'll look to you. It isn't him growing — it's your capacity to see him that grows.

3. The Eyes of Your Heart Enlightened to See Your Hope and Your Inheritance

"Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints" (Ephesians 1:18). After a mind capable of understanding, you need a heart capable of seeing — of seeing what we wouldn't normally think could be visible.

A bit like after several days of pouring rain : one morning you look out the window and can only see a few yards, then the next day a bit further, and one day the horizon is finally clear. "The eyes of the heart" is an expression found nowhere else in the New Testament ; it seems Paul coined it himself. Of course, he doesn't believe there are literal eyes inside your heart. It's a way of describing a spiritual way of seeing. A kind of seventh sense.

So what does Paul want you to see? First, the hope that belongs to your calling. Hope isn't something you see with physical eyes ; but once you have it, you can picture it in your mind, you can imagine it. What is the crowning glory of your salvation? The day is coming when you'll have a resurrected body, when all these illnesses and sinful tendencies will be gone, a body able to stand in the glorious presence of God. The day is coming when you'll see again that friend, that father, that mother, that cousin who was such an encouragement but who is no longer on earth, now with the Lord. You don't see that hope with your eyes ; you see it spiritually.

Then, the riches of the glory of his inheritance. Everything that's yours in Christ, everything waiting for you in him. Grasping that vision should completely change the way you see life. When you open your banking app, you might come across bad news. But imagine there were three billion dollars in there : that would change everything. Being able to see the glorious riches of your inheritance in Christ, keeping that in mind : what would that change about the way you live today? And this perspective is one you share with everyone else in Christ : that's exactly why, in church, you can encourage one another with these same realities.

4. The Surpassing Power of God at Work in You

"And what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might" (Ephesians 1:19). This verse, it has to be said, is a bit dense. Paul piles superlative upon superlative : greatness, power, strength, working. It's almost too much to take in at once. It's worth pausing to let the thought sink in.

There may not be adequate words for it. It isn't something you can picture with your physical senses. A bit like certain realities that go beyond imagination, ones our usual categories aren't enough to contain. What would change in how you live if you had a better grasp of this strength at work in your life — of how effective and active the Spirit's power is in you who believe?

It brings to mind the speed at which the earth spins on its axis, combined with the force of gravity : two immense forces, pulling in opposite directions, and yet you feel nothing. And it also brings to mind that beautiful scene in 2 Kings 6. Elisha is surrounded by a Syrian army, but he isn't troubled — he's calm. His servant, on the other hand, is panicking. So Elisha prays, "Yahweh, please open his eyes, that he may see." "And Yahweh opened the young man's eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha" (2 Kings 6:17). That's why Elisha was calm. He was seeing what the other man couldn't. But he didn't keep that knowledge to himself : he prayed that his servant's eyes would be opened too. And someone wrote down that story so that you, too, would grasp this same truth : what the strength of the Holy Spirit's impact in your life really means.

5. Artificial Intelligence and Spiritual Intelligence: The Key Is Prayer

To close, a quick comparison, painted with a broad brush. Artificial intelligence? Instant access, but a human invention. It can build up or tear down, depending on how it's used. Spiritual intelligence? It's a gift from God. It's cultivated over a lifetime. It nourishes the soul because it comes from God, giving you the perspective of the one who holds all knowledge. One is maybe "free with a small subscription" ; the other was paid for at an enormous price — the blood of Jesus Christ. It's a gift of his grace.

So what you've just walked through is Paul's prayer for the church : that you, together with others, would be a spiritually intelligent people through the effective work of the Spirit. This kind of prayer can shape your own prayers for yourself, especially when you feel lost, and for your church when you don't know what else to ask. Don't forget the source : Jesus himself is the model of spiritual intelligence — in how he spoke to people, in how he directed his own life, in how he led his twelve apostles in one shared direction. And Paul hands you the key : pray. Pray for these things, before the one who gives so generously, who always invites you to come to him and lay down every burden.

Key Takeaways

• Spiritual intelligence isn't a natural talent — it's a gift from God. It's produced in you through the effective working of the Holy Spirit, and it always begins with prayer.
• The true measure of a church is the vitality of its faith and the warmth of its love. Paul rejoices and gives thanks the moment he hears of these two things, not numbers or programs.
• Biblical wisdom is lived intelligence. It teaches you to recognize the season you're in (Ecclesiastes 3:11) and to adjust your life to the way God is leading you.
• The eyes of the heart see what physical eyes cannot : the hope tied to your calling and the glorious riches of your inheritance in Christ.
• The same power that raised Jesus is at work in you who believe. Like Elisha's servant, you simply need to ask God to open your eyes to see it.

Personal Application

• When you think about your church, do you notice the small things that irritate you first, or do you see the faith and love being lived out there? What might God want to change about how you see it?
• What "season" are you in right now : a season of testing, or a season of prosperity? How does the wisdom of Ecclesiastes 3:11 change the way you walk through it?
• If you truly saw "the riches of the glory" of your inheritance in Christ, what would change this very week in your decisions, your worries, your priorities?
• Where do you need God, like Elisha's servant, to "open your eyes" to see his strength at work — in a place where, humanly speaking, all you see is an army against you?
• This week, are you willing to regularly pray Paul's prayer : for wisdom, revelation, an enlightened heart, and a grasp of God's power — for yourself and for your church?

Scriptures Cited

• Ephesians 1:15-19 — Paul's prayer for the Ephesians
• Ephesians 1:4-5 — Chosen before the foundation of the world, predestined for adoption
• Ecclesiastes 3:11 — "He has made everything beautiful in its time"
• 2 Kings 6:15-17 — Elisha and his servant : "Yahweh, please open his eyes"

FAQ

What does Paul mean by a "spirit of wisdom and revelation"?

It isn't simply an accumulation of religious knowledge. In the Bible, wisdom is lived intelligence : it shows up in how you conduct your life in light of the knowledge of God. Revelation, meanwhile, underscores that this isn't obvious — it's the Father who, by his Holy Spirit, chooses the right moment to enlighten you about who he is. The two go together, and both are a gift you must ask for in prayer.

What does it mean for "the eyes of your heart" to be enlightened?

It's an expression Paul appears to have coined himself : it appears nowhere else in the New Testament. Obviously it doesn't mean physical eyes inside your heart, but rather a spiritual way of seeing. A kind of seventh sense that lets you see what your physical eyes can't : the hope tied to your calling and the glorious riches of the inheritance God has stored up for his children.

How can I actually pray the prayer of Ephesians 1:15-19?

Take Paul's words and make them your own. Thank God for the faith and love you see around you. Ask your Father for a spirit of wisdom and revelation so you can know him. Ask him to enlighten the eyes of your heart so you truly see the hope and the inheritance he has for you. Ask him to help you grasp the greatness of his power at work in you. And pray these things both for yourself and for your church : it's one of the most beautiful models of prayer the Bible gives you for others.