You have laid hold of a great prayer, one that stretches over the whole of your life and reaches right into eternity. And I am glad of it, because a prayer like this is a sure mark that the Spirit of God is already stirring in your heart, giving you a hunger that only He can satisfy. You would not be crying out for the eyes of your heart to be enlightened if the True Light were not already dawning upon you. So take that as a quiet, steady comfort before we step further.
What you are really asking for is to know, to know deep down, in the hidden place where the soul does its real living, three immense things: the hope of His calling, the riches of His inheritance in the saints, and that staggering, surpassing power that raised the Lord Jesus from the dead. Let me sit with you a while over each of them, not to explain them as a teacher might, but to hold them up so that faith can see them and take strength.
First, the hope of His calling. Think what it means that God has called you at all. Out of the noise and the darkness and the endless striving, His voice reached you and your heart answered. It was not you that began the conversation; it was He. And when He calls, He calls to something. A man does not invite a beggar to his house and then leave him shivering on the doorstep, he has a place prepared. Your Father has called you to an inheritance that cannot be taken from you, a weight of glory that will make the heaviest trial you now endure seem as light as a breath. That hope is not a thin, uncertain wish, like a child’s dream at bedtime. It is an anchor. You cannot see it, for anchors do their work out of sight under the dark water, but it lays hold of a rock and the ship cannot be swept away. Your hope is hidden with Christ in God, and it will hold though the storm screams and the cable strains. Your present weariness, the long way that has stretched your strength thin, is not the end. It is the rough lane that leads to the Father’s house. Do not let the length of the path make you say there is no hope. There is hope, and it is as sure as the throne of God.
Then the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints. Here is a thing that may startle you: you are part of Christ’s inheritance. That is what the prayer means when it speaks of the riches of His inheritance in the saints. He sees a treasure in you, not because you are strong or accomplished or spotless, you know better than that, but because He bought you with His own blood and He prizes what He has redeemed. And just as you are part of His wealth, so every other trembling, imperfect believer around you is a jewel in His crown. You are not walking this weary way alone; you are surrounded by those whom He counts as precious. When you look at the poor, struggling church, you are seeing the King’s own treasury, though the gems are often uncut and covered with dust. One day all that will be plain. Ask the Spirit to let you see it now, in the middle of the trial, so that you do not measure your wealth by the thin purse you carry today. You are an heir of God, and a joint-heir with Christ. That is true riches.
And now the exceedingly great power. This is the thing that makes the difference. You have felt your own strength dry up like a cistern in a drought. You know what it is to be weary and spent, to find that all your own resolves and resources come to exactly nothing. Good. That is precisely where the promise begins. The power that is toward you as a believer is the very power that God exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him far above every rule, authority, and dominion. Stop and let that sink into your soul. The same hand that tore the bars out of death’s prison and lifted the Lord Jesus to the highest throne is stretched out toward you at this moment. Your weakness does not matter. In fact, your weakness is the place where His strength is most at home. When a little child walks in the dark, he does not trust his own firm footing; he reaches up and takes hold of his father’s finger. And in that small grip, he feels as safe as a lion, because all the father’s strength is his. You have no power, but you have a hold of One who does. And He says to you, “They shall walk, and not faint.” The shall of grace is mightier than all the weariness of your nature. Wait on Him, and you will renew your strength; you will mount up with wings as an eagle, though right now you feel chained to the earth.
And let this comfort you most of all: the throne over all things is not a throne of cold, distant power. It is the throne of God and of the Lamb. The Lamb, the little, tender Lamb that was slain, sits in the seat of highest majesty. The very one who rules every wave and authority is the one who loved you and gave Himself for you. His heart has not changed, though His place has. He wears the crown, but He still has the shepherd’s tenderness. The government of your life, down to its smallest detail, is in the hands of the pierced hands. So you can be absolutely certain that everything is working toward a gracious end. The true sayings of God cannot be broken. The Lord omnipotent reigns, and you are among the called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. That is a truth to rest on, a pillow to sleep on, a rock to stand on.
I would have you close your eyes now and simply take these things into your heart by faith. You do not need to fight for them, earn them, or struggle them into being. They are gifts, already given, already yours in Christ. The Holy Spirit is the earnest, the first installment, the pledge that the full inheritance is on its way.
Our Father, we bow before You and ask You now to do for this beloved one all that Paul asked for the Ephesians. Give the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that Christ may be truly known. Flood the eyes of the heart with light, so that the hope of Your calling may burn bright, the riches of Your inheritance in the saints may be felt as real, and the exceeding greatness of Your power may lift this soul above every fear and every doubt. Fold this dear child in the arms that hold the universe, and let no one snatch the joy away. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
For this reason, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, we DO NOT CEASE giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of Our Lord Jesus Christ, The Glorious Father, may give to us The Holy Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation to know Him better. Grant the eyes of our heart to be enlightened so we may know the hope of Your calling, the riches of Your glorious inheritance those You called out of darkness to light, and the surpassing greatness of Your power toward us who believe, which You exerted when You raised Christ (The Lord's True Anointed and Promised King -- Messiah) from the dead and seated Him at Your Right Hand in the Heavenly Places, (Right Hand of Power, Dan 7:13-14), far above all other rule, authority, power and dominion, both in this age and the age to come, and everything having been put under subjection under His feet, The Father has made Him the Head of over all things and given You (all) power for the church, which is which is Your body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Thank You and you all in Jesus' Name (Ephesians 1:15-23).
