The Eyes of Your Heart
God’s Heart
Open your heart to the verses we read together from God’s Word. Opening your heart to God’s Word is a beautiful, life-altering experience. His Word reveals the very heart and character of God to us. God’s Word is His heart. As we read it and reflect upon it, the Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts and guides us according to His perfect will for our lives.
Considering that our hearts are made for eternity - that “He has put eternity into man’s heart” - we should come to Paul’s prayer for the church at Ephesus - which is a prayer for us as the Church as well - with great expectancy. Really, we shouldn’t be able to help but marvel as we consider what God has for the body of Christ.
Ephesians 1:15-23:
15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked 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 above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things 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.
Paul prays that we may have the eyes of our hearts enlightened so that we “may know…” Paul knows that there are things that these hearts made for eternity need to know in order to flourish. He prays that we may know what we, His body, have in Him - that we may have a true revelation of the rich blessings bestowed upon us. There are essentially three things that Paul desires for us to know - three things he prays that the Father will reveal to us about who Christ is and what we have in Him, today and forever:
1) “what is the hope to which he has called you,”
2) “what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,”
3) and “what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe.”
Remarkably, as the body of Christ, we share in and benefit from all that is Christ’s because we are His. We are His body. We are the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Everything He has, we have. In Ephesians 1, Paul shows us that, in Christ, we have hope, riches, and power - not in the earthly sense, but rather in the spiritual sense, and in abundance.
The hope He has called us to, or invited us to partake in, is the hope of redemption. It is the hope of our salvation and the hope of our promise of eternal life with Jesus. That we may know such hope - a hope like no other - Paul prays. The Father offers it to us freely; yet, it cost Jesus everything - “death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8).
Paul continues in prayer that we may know “the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints.” This is a precious gift to the body - to know that He desires each of us to be part of His eternal inheritance. He desires to take us as His precious possession, now and into all of eternity. We are His and He is ours. It is a beautiful and awe-inspiring promise.
Finally, he prays that we may know what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us. As His body, the Father allows us to partake in the very power He used to raise Christ from the dead and to seat Him at His right hand in the heavenly places. Jesus Christ is above all things. His name is above all names. The power He directs toward us - the power we have access to in Him - is of immeasurable greatness. It is the power that fills all in all, the power of Him who is everything. As His church, that power is available to us with the whisper of a prayer, and as we access His power and operate in it, we collectively become the fullness of Him. As we work, under His rule and authority and power and dominion, to further His Kingdom in this age, our hearts rejoice in the glory of the age to come, which is ours in Him. It is a blessing our human minds can hardly fathom.
Let us go forth into each day clinging to the knowledge of this hope, this rich inheritance and this incomparable power. Let us place it at the forefront of our minds that we may live our lives in the light of such knowing.
Let us pray with the apostle Paul,
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give us the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of our hearts enlightened, that we may know...
Share Your Heart
Consider the following discussion starters as you share your hearts with one another:
Do you think you fully grasp the hope to which Christ has called you? What is this hope exactly?
Do you understand the inheritance that is yours in and with Christ? How do you feel about knowing that as a member of the body of Christ, you are God’s precious possession - you are His and He is yours for all of eternity?
How do you feel about the the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe? Do you understand that that power is available to us, as His body, with the whisper of a prayer?
Paul refers to the body of Christ as “the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” How do you feel about knowing that as we access His power and operate in it, we collectively become the fullness of Him?
The Cries of Your Heart
At Hearts Together Women, we believe that the Lord hears the cries of our hearts.
We also believe in prayer partnership because God’s Word teaches us that partnering with one another in prayer is powerful.
James 5:16 says, “Therefore…pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
And Jesus encourages us, “When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I'll be there” (Matthew 18:19-20, The Message).
What amazing promises!
Here is how prayer partnership works at a Hearts Together Gathering:
After we share in the Word and discussion, your facilitator will ask each woman for her prayer requests. All you need to do is share your own requests - the cries of your heart - because we all have them.
We encourage you to request prayer for 1) your own needs; 2) the needs of your family and loved ones; and 3) the needs you see around you - in the workplace, the school, the neighborhood or even the nation.
After the requests are shared, your gathering facilitator will lead in a prayer for the needs that were put forth.
In the following days, we encourage you to pray for the requests of the other women in your gathering. They will do the same for you. That’s what prayer partnership is all about!
As we unite in prayer, we trust the Lord will meet with us, dwell among us and answer us in accordance with His perfect will.
Your Heart to His
Maybe you felt the Holy Spirit stirring something in your heart during this gathering. It doesn’t have to end here. Take it home. In the followings days, continue to pursue Him. Spend some time alone and quiet, away from the noise of life - just you and Jesus.
Tell Him the cries of your heart. He is listening; He cares, and He does answer. Praying is kind of like having a conversation with your best friend. He created you, so He already knows everything about you. He just wants to be with you.
After you pray, reread the Scriptures and thoughts under God’s Heart. Reflect upon the verses and how they speak to you and your life.
Here are some things you might contemplate and pray about:
Consider that, in Him, you have hope for eternity, you share in a rich inheritance and you have access to incomparable power. Purpose to go forth into each day clinging to the knowledge of this hope, this rich inheritance and this incomparable power. Place it at the forefront of your mind that you may live your life in the light of such knowing. Pray that the Lord will enlighten the eyes of your heart to such a knowing.
This is just between you and Jesus - your heart to His. Make space in your busy days to spend some time with Him.
