¹⁵ For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶ do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. ¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might ²⁰ which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. ²² And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, ²³ which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Ephesians 1:15-23

Every teacher lives for the day when his pupils finally “get it.” If not, he’s not much of a teacher; only a pontificator.

As a teacher, you know when you survey your students eyes whether you’re making ground. In Paul’s case, he could see–or he was told of–the Ephesians’ excellent start, that they already excelled in faith and love. He was almost there! One last visit, perhaps, to the throne of God, to acquire for them the wisdom and knowledge to really grasp the full ramifications of the “hope of His calling,” the glorious riches of an inheritance as saints, and the unsurpassed great power to all believers at their fingertips.

Such a “V8 moment” is only accessible through the Spirit, not by rote memory work or attending church every time the doors are open. A believer will have this revelation sooner or later as he or she reads, studies and meditates on Scripture, and prays this kind of prayer for himself. This is how the Spirit gains unfettered access to the “eyes of our heart,” so as to throw the proverbial “light switch.” When the heavenly banks of lights shine, we see with brilliance the power that raised Christ and seated him at the right hand of God. We see all the fullness of Christ and his preeminence as the head of the church. Indeed, the greatest mystery of life, the summing up of all things in Christ comes clear!

I remember the verse in Second Chronicles (16:9), “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”

In other words, for those who finally get it!

[Another Pauline Prayer is in Ephesians 3:14-21.]