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. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Ephesians 1:17-23

Dear God, I am not sure that I have seen this before, but, at least in this instance, Paul isn’t saying need wisdom and revelation to understand what is going on around us. He wants us you to give us (me) the Spirit (Holy Spirit) of wisdom and revelation so that I can know you better. That’s it. To know you better. That’s what it’s all about. I don’t have to understand what is happening around me any further than to know what you would have me do in any given moment to respond to it. But I don’t have to understand the big picture of what is happening. I will know how to respond if I know you and internalize that knowledge of you. If I have the Holy Spirit speaking into my heart and nudging me.

So what are the different parts of you I should know? Well, Paul gives those to me in this passage:

1. The hope to which you have called me
2. The riches of your inheritance
3. Your incomparably great power unleashed for me

My wife and I have been watching The Good Place. I’m still not sure whether or not it is sacrilegious, but it probably is. We are two seasons into a four-season series and, so far, it is all about performance. It puts the power of my ability to get to “the good place” when I die into my hands through a purely performance-based system. Maybe our need for your mercy will be addressed by the end. In fact, I have a feeling I might end up doing a specific prayer journal on the show when I’ve finished the series, but for now there is this incredible emptiness to it. Even the good feeling I get from doing a good thing is nothing when it’s not tied to the peace of knowing I’m not doing it for a reward.

I love my children. There really isn’t anything that either of them can do to earn or lose my love–and those boundaries have certainly been tested. In fact, I had something yesterday that hurt my feelings. But at the end of the day–or even in that moment–it didn’t affect how much I love that child. It impacts relationship, but it doesn’t impact love. I think the biggest thing you have done for me through parenthood was give me just a glimpse of how you see me. I can’t even put into words what I know of your love for me because of the love I have for them.

Father, I am sorry I hurt you. I am sorry I allow my selfishness to get in the way of me knowing you better. Help me to be at rest in you. When my children are with me, I just want them to know they are loved and in a safe place. Help me to know that in my relationship with you as well.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen