Day 18

I felt under so much of a time crunch this morning, that from the beginning of my morning routine, I was already praying that God would make me very efficient today – so that I would not waste any time. I just had too much to do today, so… this was the morning that He reminded me that I have begun my devotions each morning without acknowledging Him or spending time in fellowship with Him “before” I started to dig into His Word. I knew that I wasn’t going to compromise “His” schedule, by superimposing “mine” and my priorities on top of the appointment He and I had to meet this morning. I would do what I needed to do after first spending time with Him – except I had been treating my time of study as a scholarly act, not a time of basking in the presence of my LORD. I’m not sure how I missed it, but today (day 18 of this 40-day journey into knowing God), I opened my study time by having a conversation with the LORD. Not with my Bible and study materials open, but with my eyes closed, and my heart open to what He wanted me to experience – His presence.
One of the things we have access to today, that even Moses did not have despite his unique experience of fellowshipping face to face with God, as a man does with his friend (Ex 33:11a The LORD spoke with Moses face to face, just as a man speaks with his friend.), is the realization of the promise of our triune God. As with the verses from Paul’s prison epistles that we looked at yesterday, Paul writes of his prayers that we receive the “spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge (epignosei) of Him.” (Eph 1:17) And then he specifically lists the three ideas of hope, riches, and power. However, Paul does not pray that we would receive them! Look:
“I pray that the perception of your mind may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength.” (Eph 1:18-19)
Paul was not praying that we receive these things, but instead since we are “in Christ,” that we would know that they are already ours! The prayer is that we would so “epi-know” this, that it would cause us to live differently. Once we comprehend the extent of God’s blessings to us “in Christ,” we are overwhelmed with praise and humility! So why then, having been adopted into the richest family in the universe, are we so disappointed in our state of poverty?
Look at one final thing from this passage: Knowing God includes a relationship with each of the three persons of the Trinity. God the Father has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. He has done this, in and through God the Son. And this is communicated to us, and sealed in our hearts, by the ministry of God the Holy Spirit. Fully knowing God, therefore means knowing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
“I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him…. He demonstrated this power in the Messiah by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavens — far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put everything under His feet and appointed Him as head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of the One who fills all things in every way.” (Eph 1:17, 20-23)