Paul continues to pray for believers’ understanding of who they are in Christ to increase. As we pray the same for each other, it will be answered because it is the revealed will of God! God is very proud of His Son. He loves and longs for people to know more about His Son, and to keep learning more of Him forever.

A bamboo shoot can grow amazingly fast, but it takes 2 years developing an extensive root system before it even sprouts. So it is with our Christian growth – the more rooted we are in knowledge of our Savior, the more stable and consistent our growth will be.

Three Things to Pray that We Would Grow in Knowledge Of:

God’s Method of Saving Us (verse 18).
To understand our riches in Christ, we need to know more about the reality behind theological words like election, predestination, and foreknowledge (verses 3-14). Stability comes with the spiritual nourishment of ever-deeper learning in Christ and resulting growth.

“The hope of your calling” – The Holy Spirit effectually calls people to repentance and salvation. Your hope is as certain as your salvation is sure.

Your spiritual strength will atrophy if you don’t exercise your mind on who Christ is and what He’s done for you. We will spend the rest of our lives learning about everything that happened to us at the moment of salvation. There is more to learn about our riches and inheritance in Jesus Christ than there is in a 1600-page tax textbook, and ours never changes!

God’s Supremacy (verse 19-20).
The words power, working, strength, and might are used as synonyms in this context to underscore how powerful God in Christ is to save you. It is a transforming power that not only saves but gives you the ability to stand out in stark contrast to a dark culture. Tempting desires lose their appeal when you are walking in the Spirit.

No one can imagine or explain how much power it took to raise Jesus from the dead. It is a surpassing greatness of power. We are so amazed and grateful for the privilege of experiencing resurrection power at work in our own lives.
The more you know about Christ’s power in you, the more stable, joyful, and hopeful you will be, and the more positive impact you’ll have on those you are leading.

God’s Person (verses 21-23).
God exists far above all rule, authority, power, and dominion. These are four more synonyms in this context. Later in the book, the same words are associated with demonic influence (Ephesians 6:12). Jesus’ name is greater than anyone in our present culture or any evil power that will reign during the Tribulation age to come.

Christ is given to the church as her head. We have been given a complete saturation of Christ; we can never be more full of Jesus than we already are.

Strange as it sounds, Jesus can’t live without us. A Head can’t exist without a body. What is a Shepherd without sheep? What is a Vine without branches? What is a Bridegroom without a bride? And we certainly cannot live without Him.

• Meditate on the myriad of blessings we receive in Christ through prayer. We have been granted access to God’s throne room and the full attention of our Creator. We learn God’s will through prayer and receive grace to do it. Let these realities incline your heart to pray more.
• Pray for this church and the believers around you to grow in their knowledge of who they are in Christ. This is a prayer God longs to answer.
• The less we know of our Savior, the more inconsistent and unstable our growth will be. Is your life characterized by stability, joy, and hope? Have you found yourself trapped by a particular sin? The answer is found in praying this prayer and continuing to learn of Christ. Regardless of your position in this spiritual journey, you need to keep learning and growing! How can you increase your knowledge of Christ, His salvation, and surpassing greatness, this week?

Cross References to Explore:
John 17, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Luke 18:1 – Reasons to pray.
Ephesians 5:11, Galatians 5:16 – God’s power to protect us from the unfruitful works of darkness.
Matthew 28:17-20 – The purpose of Jesus’ power being given to the church.

A Hymn to Encourage: “My Faith Has Found A Resting Place”

My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device or creed.
I trust the ever-living One;
His wounds for me shall plead.
I need no other argument; I need no other plea.
It is enough that Jesus died, and that He died for me!

Enough for me that Jesus saves,
This ends my fear and doubt.
A sinful soul I come to Him;
He’ll never cast me out.
I need no other argument; I need no other plea.
It is enough that Jesus died, and that He died for me!

My heart is leaning on the Word,
The living Word of God,
Salvation by my Savior’s Name,
Salvation through His blood.
I need no other argument; I need no other plea.
It is enough that Jesus died, and that He died for me!

My great Physician heals the sick,
The lost He came to save;
For me His precious blood He shed,
For me His life He gave.
I need no other argument; I need no other plea.
It is enough that Jesus died, and that He died for me!