Read Ephesians 3.
Paul described for the Ephesians how he prayed for them in verses 14-19 of this chapter.
His prayer was that they would be strengthened spiritually by God’s power (v. 16). Specifically, he wanted them to know Christ by faith (v. 17) and go much deeper in love. Notice how love is mentioned in verses 17, 18, and 19. Christ’s love is what establishes us (v. 17b) and his love for us is immense (“how wide and longs and high and deep”) so we need God’s help to grasp it. It is so great that it “surpasses knowledge” yet God wants us “to know this love” (v. 19a). The result of knowing and growing in Christ’s love is that we will “be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
Consider some ways in which knowing God’s love changes us:
- If we know how much God loves us, we will believe that sin will damage us.
- If we know how much God loves us, we will believe that obedience, not sin, will bring joy to our lives.
- If we know how much God loves us, we will believe that he allows bad stuff into our lives for our good not to cause us pain.
- If we know how much God loves us, we will not fear what people think of us.
- If we know how much God loves us, we will want to share his love with other people, even those we think are unlovely.
I’m sure that list could go on and on. God wants you to be holy, he wants you to believe his word, he wants you to live a generous, giving life, he wants you to spread the gospel and live for eternity.
But the key that unlocks all these (and other) great Christian truths is the knowledge that God loves you. So, ask him to teach you how much he loves you and pray for others that they might know and grow in the knowledge of Christ’s love for them.