Ephesians • Bask in the Treasure of Prayer and Love

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What does God think about you? The answer to that question, Christian sister or brother, is that you are dearly loved by God who wants a relationship with you. So He’s given humans another gift that no other creature has—the gift of conversation. He wants us to use that gift in conversation with Him. Prayer is conversation with Someone who loves you dearly. In the last article in this series, we rejoiced as we fingered all the spiritual blessing jewels we have from Christ in our treasure chest. This is post #5 in the Ephesians blog series. In this post, we will bask in the treasure of being dearly loved by our God.

Listen to this post as a similar podcast from the Seek the Treasure Bible Study covering Ephesians in the New Testament. (8 lessons)

What Does God Think about You?

Did you know that one of the top internet search phrases is this, “What does God think about me?” That could be a natural question for anyone to ask who does not already know the Bible’s teachings. But a lot of times, that question reveals great insecurity, even among Christians. Perhaps this question is constantly rolling over in your mind. “What does God think about me?”

If you look at stuff on the internet and read some devotionals and Bible studies, you’ll run across teaching that focuses constantly on our sinfulness. And yes, every human is prone to sinfulness. But what is often left out is the good news of God’s grace toward us and His life in us. It drives me nuts when I see application questions in women’s Bible Studies that focus only on avoiding sin in your life.

No wonder many women look at their lives, which may be very messy compared to others, and think to themselves, “God must not like me as much as He does her.” Have you ever thought that way?

Then, you might resign yourself to your “fate” because you don’t deserve better. Or you do as many good deeds as you possibly can to try to get back into God’s good favor so He’ll love you again.

Stop it! Remember your treasure chest in Christ filled with beautiful things that God has given to you as His adopted daughter.

In the last blog, we fingered some of those jewels that you are given: chosen to be holy and blameless, forgiven of all sin, lavished with grace, and sealed by the Holy Spirit guaranteeing your inheritance—now and later.

And here’s another blessing jewel that really answers that question, “What does God think about me?”

You Are Dearly Loved by God

This blessing jewel should make your heart soar. It’s found in Ephesians 5:1-2,

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us …. (Ephesians 5:1-2)

The answer to the question of what God thinks about you is this truth, my Christian sister or brother. You are dearly loved by God. And the treasure you have in God who loves you dearly is more powerful and valuable than anything you could substitute for Him.

You and I are dearly loved by our God and by our Savior Jesus Christ. And our God who loves you dearly and has given you all those blessing jewels also wants a relationship with you. So He’s given humans another gift that no other creature has—the gift of conversation. And through this gift, you and I can enjoy a relationship with this wonderful God who loves us dearly.

Studies say that women have about 20,000 words to use up each day. The God of the Universe wants to hear some of those from us—whether thinking them or speaking them. Isn’t that amazing?

Prayer Is Conversation with Someone Who Loves You Dearly

Using our words in conversation with God is called prayer. Prayer is conversation with someone who loves you dearly.

This could happen during a structured time of prayer each day. Or it could be as you do your daily tasks and interact with people. God wants us to bare our souls, to ask Him for what we need and what others need, to thank Him and praise Him. He wants us to remember that He is present with us and simply converse with Him just like we think about and talk to people we love all day long. That’s what prayer is.

Every time the subject of prayer comes up, my tendency is to start feeling guilty. I don’t do it right. I don’t do it enough. I get busy and forget all about praying. Thankfully, I am reminded that prayer is not an “it.” It’s not a “to do.” It is an experience to enjoy. Prayer is a conversation with Someone who loves us dearly. I can do that. And so can you.

Each and every one of us can approach our God freely with freedom and confidence that He hears us. Ephesians 3:12 says something that we all need to hear with our hearts,

In Him (that’s Jesus) and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Ephesians 3:12)

Wow! You and I can approach the God of the universe with freedom and confidence because of what Jesus has done for us and our identity being in Him. Based on that, here are some truths we can know about prayer.

Prayer truth #1: God hears your prayer because of Jesus in you

God hears your prayer because of Jesus in you and you in Him. In God’s eyes, you are seated in Christ, right next to God the Father. We saw that in Ephesians 2:6.

You can picture yourself looking at God the Father and saying, “Father, I need a word of encouragement from you today.”

Or as you are seated in Christ saying, “Did you see that, Lord Jesus? What should I do now?”

What an incredible privilege to enjoy—resting in Christ and talking to Him about anything and everything that matters to your heart like you would do with your best friend on your phone.

Read this blog to answer the question, “Is it okay to pray to Jesus?”

Prayer truth #2: God doesn’t require “special language”

God doesn’t require “special” language like thee and thou to get His attention. As a young Christian, I thought I had to do that. But those words were commonly used when the King James Version was written 400 years ago. They are not used in everyday language today. You have the freedom to use or not use them.

Prayer truth #3: God assists you as you pray

When you are too distressed or distracted to even know the right words to pray, the Holy Spirit who is living inside you says your words for you, carrying the right message to God the Father from your heart to His. We get that from Romans 8:26. And Romans 8:34 says that Jesus is doing the same.

Prayer truth #4: You have direct access to God

You have direct access to God. No one is closer to God than you are. Let me say that again. No one who is dead or alive is any closer to God than you are—seated in Christ with God’s Spirit inside. You don’t need the help of someone with the title of “Saint” or any other title to get God to hear your prayer. So feel free to talk directly to God yourself.

For more on praying to spiritual substitutes, read the blog, “Flee the Spiritual Substitutes Infection.”

Prayer truth #5: No formula guarantees results

There’s no formula to use that guarantees results. There are some tools out there to guide you in your structured prayer time. But there’s no formula to conversation with Someone who loves you dearly. You don’t use a formula to talk to your parents, or best friend, or spouse. Do you? You don’t have to do that with God. The best prayer comes straight from the heart.

Neither do you have to say, “in Jesus’ name,” although that becomes a habit for us to use without thinking. “In Jesus’ name” is not a magical phrase. The attitude of praying in Jesus’ name is asking according to what Jesus would ask. It’s a spirit of obedience and submission to His will more than your own. It’s not a formula.

Maybe something in your past makes you uncomfortable about praying. God wants you to get over whatever that is. He wants you to talk to Him. He wants you to enjoy a relationship with Someone who loves you dearly. And …

Prayer truth #6: Prayer flows from knowing God.

Prayer flows from knowing God. Prayer is conversation with Someone who not only loves you dearly but also gives you the gift of knowing Him intimately.

Let’s go back to Ephesians chapter 1. Paul was thinking about all those spiritual blessings we have in Christ when he wrote these words, beginning in verse 15,

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people,I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. (Ephesians 1:15-17)

“May give you”

That word “give” is a key word in Ephesians. Eight times, Paul referred to God giving something to us. The one who lavished us with adoption, forgiveness, and grace is the giver of all good gifts. One of these gifts is to know Him.

“You may know”

That word “know” means “going beyond objective facts to knowing God intimately as in “closely acquainted and familiar.”

We can know Him personally, as a close friend. What a gift! That’s another spiritual blessing jewel and one that will certainly stimulate prayer in your life.

To know Him, we need wisdom because there’s a lot of junk out there about God. That’s why it’s so important to really get to know the God of the Bible. Knowing Him starts with studying the Scriptures to learn who this glorious Father God is who gives you an identity and purpose in His Son Jesus Christ. Then, the Holy Spirit uses that Scripture to teach you about God and gives you an intimate awareness of His presence.

Let me illustrate what that intimate awareness is like. Let’s say you love fried chicken. If someone blindfolded you and placed a bunch of different foods in front of you, you could pick out the fried chicken by just the smell of it. It’s that familiar.

We will never know all there is to know about God. There’ll always be some mystery about Him. But there’s plenty enough revealed in the Bible that we can know Him truthfully. Then, you can discern all the false information the world gives you and delete it from influencing you. God wants you to be able to recognize His hand in your life, His power at work for you in specific answers to prayer that could only be from God. You can know God intimately like that. Paul wrote, “Ask for it.” So…ask for it.

Firmly Grasp How Much You Are Dearly Loved

In Ephesians chapter 3, Paul continued his previous thought about knowing God and His power for us. He prayed for one more thing—the one thing that makes a relationship soar. That one thing is something for you to know with absolute certainty. Beginning in verse 14,

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power… to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge…” (Ephesians 3:14-19)

As you get to know God, you will really be able to firmly grasp the immensity of how much you are loved! Jesus wants this to be deeply rooted in you. You can know this love intimately and experientially. It’s not just head knowledge. As a believer in Christ, you are an individual recipient of God’s personal love for you as His child.

Through God’s power in you, you can grasp God’s love for you (Ephesians 3:16-19). God enables you to overcome your insecurities and doubts and comparisons in order to know and experience His love. That’s very important for you as a believer.

Have you heard that God loves you but your brain is telling you, “No way!” Or maybe you know in your head that God loves you, but you just don’t feel it in your heart. It’s okay to feel God’s love for you. God wants you to really know it and to allow yourself to feel it. You can ask for this. Romans 5:5 says that God pours His love into your heart. You can know the love of God for you. Grasp it!

When you are confident in God’s love for you, conversing with Him through prayer will be a natural response. God wants you to talk to Him. He wants you to enjoy a relationship with Someone who loves you dearly. And He gives you the gift of knowing Him so that you can feel a close relationship with Him.

It doesn’t matter how many mistakes you’ve made in the past or what’s in your bank account. Whether you’ve been a Christian for 3 weeks or 30 years, you are dearly loved by your Father God—equally, no more, no less than every other Christian alive today or in the past.

Believer, you are dearly loved! You can bask in that treasure.

Read more about being dearly loved in the blog, “Hannah • Believe That You Are Dearly Loved.”

In the next post, we will look at the treasure we have in being part of God’s church.

Let Jesus satisfy your heart with the confidence that the treasure you have in Him is more powerful and valuable than anything you could substitute for Him.

All of the above information is covered in the Seek the Treasure Bible Study covering Ephesians in the New Testament.

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