Philippians 1:9-11 (NIV)
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Ephesians 1:15-23 (NIV)
15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 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. 18 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, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 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. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Reflection:
In the 1970’s after dabbling in drugs, mysticism and various life pursuits, a young talented musician Keith Green experienced a dramatic conversion to Christ. He then went on to become an influential songwriter and minister, and wrote the lyrics to the following song based on his conversion:
Like a foolish dreamer, trying to build a highway to the sky
All my hopes would come tumbling down, and I never knew just why
Until today, when you pulled away the clouds that hung like curtains on my eyes
Well I’ve been blind all these wasted years and I thought I was so wise
But then you took me by surprise
Like waking up from the longest dream, how real it seemed
Until your love broke through
I’ve been lost in a fantasy, that blinded me
Until your love broke through
The Apostle Paul also had a powerful conversion experience where something like “scales” literally fell off his eyes and then he could clearly see and understand who Jesus really is. He subsequently viewed his life in light of his new calling in Christ. In these letters to the Philippian and the Ephesian churches, his prayer is that they would also experience the same; and that they would grow in knowing Christ personally and the glorious way He has for His church.
As we are empowered by the Holy Spirit, may we also see life through Christ’s eyes!
Responding to Transmission:
We are called to live a life of prayer based in the love of Christ with our eyes now open to the truth of the gospel. This world is full of many distractions and false ideologies, but as followers of Christ, let’s spend time in prayer asking for more discernment as we view life through the eyes of Christ.
