A friend of mine (short plug: my friend, Sean Michel, who was on American Idol, makes some pretty rockin’ music with his band. Go check them out!) stopped by my office one day a few weeks ago to talk an idea he had for our student ministry. He said that he was really encouraged by our student ministry because he thought of our us as sending “little Apostle Paul’s” out.
Pause for a moment to reflect on that. I mean, c’mon. Apostle Paul’s? Love it!
He knows that I meet with our leadership team once a week to encourage, provide accountability, and to talk over the next week’s lesson. He said that he thought it would be cool to go over Paul’s prayers in his epistles.
I jumped on it and our students did, too. What’s cool is that our students started discovering some truths in Scripture that they hadn’t found in the past.
Not to mention, they were able to see Paul’s heart for his people. I would say he’s a pretty good example to follow.
As we studied through Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians, one thing kept popping out to me over and over again; in Ephesians, specifically.
“…that God may give you a spirit of wisdom…”
“…that God may give you a spirit of revelation in the knowledgeof Him” (literally that God would reveal Himself to you).
“…that the eyes of your hearts may be enlightened…”
“…that you may know the hope to which He has called you.”
Is it obvious to anyone else that Paul wanted the Ephesian church to know God more? And when it all boils down, if we simply focus on getting to know God, all else (outreach, discipleship, worship, justice, kindness, grace, etc.)
A couple take-aways:
1. In your own spiritual life, what are you shooting for? Is it to know God?
2. In your prayers for your people, what are you asking God for?