Paul’s Prayer for the Saints      

Paul begins Ephesians 1:15–17 with “For this reason”—three words that carry tremendous weight. Those three words serve as a hinge that connects everything he had just declared in Ephesians 1:3–14 to everything he is about to pray. That opening section is one very long sentence in the original Greek, and a sweeping panorama of God’s grace in election, redemption, forgiveness, and the sealing of the Holy Spirit. Paul painted the most amazing portrait of what God has done for believers in Christ, and standing before that canvas, he drops to his knees. 

The logic is unmistakable: A right understanding of what God has done in Christ will always drive the believer to praise and prayer. Before prayer comes gratitude:

For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers (Ephesians 1:15–16).

Paul tells the Ephesians he has heard of two critically important things about them: their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love for all the saints. These two marks, vertical devotion toward Christ and horizontal devotion toward fellow believers, are strong evidence of a genuine Christian community. They mirror the two great commandments Jesus Himself identified: love God and love your neighbor (Matthew 22:37–39). When both of these are present together, something real is happening. A church that claims faith in Messiah but shows no love for its people has only half the picture, and arguably the easier half.

What is striking here is Paul’s response to this news. Rather than simply complimenting them or resting in the knowledge that the Ephesian church was doing well, Paul is moved to intercede for them. Their spiritual health did not produce complacency in him; it produced prayer. It is easy to assume that strong churches do not need prayer; however, Paul understood that the greatest danger to a thriving congregation is not always opposition from without, but spiritual stagnation from within. Strong churches still need to grow even more.

Paul addresses his prayer to “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.” Before he makes a single request, Paul names the God he is speaking to. This is not a mere formality. The phrase “Father of glory” is full of meaning. It points to the absolute majesty and transcendence of God. God is the very source and definition of all glory. Every glimpse of beauty, every experience of awe, every moment of transcendence that humans encounter in creation is only a pale reflection of who He is. To address God this way is to approach Him with open hands, in full recognition that what Paul is about to ask cannot be manufactured by human effort, studied into existence, or willed into being through sheer discipline. It can only be given from above.

What does Paul ask for? The heart of his prayer is that God “may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.” Notice what Paul does not pray for. He does not pray for better circumstances. He does not ask God to expand their ministry platform, increase their numbers, or solve their practical problems. He prays for deeper knowledge of God. This is both humbling and clarifying. In a world that prizes results, resources, and relevance even within the church, Paul’s instinct is to pray for something far less visible and far more foundational—that the people of God would truly know Him.

The word “knowledge” here in the Greek is epignosis, which implies a full, deep, experiential knowing. Not merely knowing about God, but knowing Him. This is the kind of knowledge that not only informs but also transforms. It is the knowledge that changes how a person sees suffering, responds to failure, and treats a difficult neighbor. It is the knowledge Paul himself calls “surpassing” in Philippians 3:8. This, Paul says, is what we most need; not better strategies, not more resources, but more of God.