Powerful Prayer: Greater Revelation of What We Already Have

Sharing good news of great joy to all people,

Elation Church. Week number six in our series

of powerful prayer. It almost ended last week,

but it couldn't end last week. We have at least

one more, maybe two more weeks before we finish

this series on powerful prayer. And for us to

say that there is a powerful prayer, that means

that there's probably a... prayer that's not

very powerful, right? How many of you have ever

prayed and your prayer wasn't answered? The Bible

says an effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous

man avails much. And avails much means it produces

wonderful results. Hello? Somebody smile. Don't

frown at me when I'm preaching good. If we're

praying powerful prayers, we can expect wonderful

results. I'm going to say it again until more

than my son says amen. If we pray powerful prayers,

we can expect wonderful results. Thank you. I

was going to have to pull out my amen button

again. Church gave me an amen button a couple

of years for my birthday. It has them saying

amen on it. Sometimes I've got to press my own

amen button to get amen. But anyway, powerful

prayer. Let's have a quick recap. How many of

you know recaps are okay? Because I'm sure nobody

in this room, no one in this room, could give

me all this information off the top of their

head. Unless they've got one of them photogenic,

no it's not photogenic, photographic memories.

I was seeing if you were listening. Quick recap.

Here we go. It's very quick. If you need more

information on this, you got to go to the podcast

or to the YouTube channel and listen to these

sermons again. Because I'm going to try my best

not to re -preach every one of them, which is

hard sometimes. We started with the Lord's Prayer.

The disciples asked Jesus, teach us to pray.

And these are the things he said after they asked

him to teach them to pray. Here's what Jesus

said. When you pray, don't babble on and on as

the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are

answered merely by repeating their words again

and again. That tells us what powerful prayer

is not. Powerful prayer is not mindless, meaningless

repetition. Who's been guilty of that before?

We've got a memorized prayer, and you think it's

a good time to pray, so you just rip off that

memorized prayer, not even considering the words

that you're saying. You just think you need to

pull off something spiritual, right? So, you

say, twinkle, twinkle, little star. Don't even

think about what you're talking about. So, powerful

prayer is not mindless, meaningless repetition.

I'm going to go ahead and throw this out there.

That can even be the Lord's Prayer, which is

an amazing prayer. But if all you're doing is

ripping it off to do something spiritual, don't

even do it. Don't even do it. Jesus said, don't

be like that. Everybody say, don't be like that.

Don't be like that, for your Father knows exactly

what you need, even before you ask Him. This

tells us something else that powerful prayer

is not. Powerful prayer is not begging God to

do what you want him to do. I don't know how

many years of my life that I thought prayer was

me figuring out what I wanted and then me begging

God to give me what I wanted. So I'm just like,

God, give me this, give me this, give me this,

give me this. I want you to do this. I want you

to do that. I want you to do this. And God, you

know, follow me around today. Be with me today.

That's all, folks. Or amen, whichever one you

want. That's it. So powerful prayer is not just

begging God for what you want Him to do. Powerful

prayer is not talking at God. It's talking with

God. Everybody say, talking with God. We're in

a relationship with the living God, so we talk

with him. We don't just talk at him. What kind

of communication and relationship would you have

with someone if all you did was talk at them

the whole time and never talk with them? Would

you have a relationship? Not a very good one.

Jesus said, don't do those things. And then he

said, pray like this. Pray like this. The Lord's

Prayer is a model, a pattern, a guide for powerful

prayer. It's not something to memorize and rip

off. It's a model. It's a model. He said, start

out by saying, our Father in heaven, may your

name be kept holy. When we looked at that, it

was like. Father, you're the one who gives me

life. You're the one who gives me eternal life.

You're the one who provides me abundant life

in your kingdom. God, you are the life giver.

You are my father. And God, your name is special

to me. Your name is so special to me. And you

might even want to, you know, Remind yourself

and proclaim who he is in the request that you're

bringing to him. I need to say that again? If

his name is special to you, then you need to

remind yourself of his name, who he is, his identity,

right? His activity, the relationship that you

have with him, which was father. That's what

I started with, but if you need peace, does anyone

need peace every once in a while? See, this is

a beggar's prayer. Oh, God, I need peace. Please

give me peace. God, I'm just so messed up. I'm

torn up. I'm just going through this terrible

time. God, please, please, please give me peace.

Give me peace. That's a beggar's prayer. A beggar's

prayer. A powerful prayer for peace would be

like this. After we acknowledge him as father

and the life giver and the one who, I mean, he's

God, right? And he's daddy at the same time.

And then we say, God, you are Yahweh Shalom.

His name is special to me. Who he is, what he

does, it's special to me. Your name, God. is

Yahweh Shalom. God, you are my peace. You see

how we're turning from a beggar's prayer to a

powerful prayer? Hello? Jesus, you told me that

the peace you give me is different than the world's

peace. So the peace that I have in you is not

based on what's going on around me. It's based

on who you are and what you have made available

to me, what you have given me. That's a powerful

prayer. When his name becomes special to you.

May your kingdom come soon. May your will be

done on earth as it is in heaven. How many of

you can look around at the world today and see

that the will of God is not being done in the

earth? All a mess. Because if the will of God

is being done in the earth, then heaven is going

to be just like it is here. Who's expecting heaven

to be a different place than here? Right? So,

When he says this, he's telling us to begin to

declare heavenly realities. The things of God

that are going on in the heaven. And we're declaring

those things into our world, into our lives.

And we're seeing those things with our spiritual

eyes. Powerful prayer is declaring heavenly realities.

into our temporal, physical realm. Your kingdom

come. Your will be done. Right? We're calling

for the supernatural, wonderful things of heaven

to come into our existence and into our lives.

Your kingdom come. Your will be done. on earth

as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we

need. This is not begging God for provision.

It's appropriating. Because when we looked at

it in the Greek, it's like it didn't say it the

same way as it did in this English translation.

So we found out that powerful prayer is based

on appropriating. Who we are and what we have

in Christ. See, God has already promised. Look

at the person beside you and tell them, God's

already promised. God's already promised. Has

he not promised to take care of you? Is he not

a good shepherd? God, you are my good shepherd.

That means I shall not want. Hello? Come on,

somebody. Your name is special to me, God. You

are my shepherd. You are Yahweh Jireh, my provider.

You are El Shaddai. You are more than enough.

So powerful prayer is based on appropriating

who we are and what we have in Him. And quickly,

I want you to think of a debit card. You got

a debit card. There's money in your bank account.

You've got a debit card, but then you go out

to eat, and then you tap the machine, and all

of a sudden, bleep! Money that you've never seen

goes from somewhere that you don't even know

where it is, and it appears into the machines

at that restaurant. Think of it the same way

in declaring heavenly realities, right? In appropriating.

What God has already promised. He's already promised

it. He's already given it to you. We're not beggars.

Look to the person beside you and tell them,

I'm not a beggar. I'm not a beggar. I'm the child

of the living God. I'm not a beggar. I had to

preach myself happy. Verse 12. And forgive us

our sins. As, everybody say as. When we looked

at this, this was powerful too. God, I want you

to forgive me just like I forgive everybody else

who did me wrong. Hello? Hello? Do we want God

to forgive us like we forgive other people? You

do? Hope you got a short list. Here's what that

reminds us. If we're living in unforgiveness

and bitterness, you know what? It will disconnect

our prayers from the power of effectiveness.

So Jesus is saying, you better check your heart

when you come to me, talking to me, asking me

for something. You better check your heart. Because

if you're harboring all this bitterness and unforgiveness,

I can't help you. Because here's what he said.

He says, I've forgiven you. And his command,

not his suggestion, but his command is for us

to forgive everybody else just like he forgave

us. Hallelujah. It's good preaching. Even if

it's challenging, it's good preaching. I don't

want just my ears to be tickled today. I don't

want my ears to be tickled every time I come.

I want to be challenged to come up higher, just

like God wants me to come up higher. I want to

be challenged to come up higher. And don't let

us yield to temptation. But rescue us from the

evil one. That was last week. Don't let us yield

to temptation. Everybody say, God is not the

tempter. God is the deliverer. He is the rescuer.

Hello? So powerful prayer proclaims our victory

over temptation and our deliverance from evil

that we now have in Christ. Everybody say, in

Christ. That's what we have in Christ. Since

powerful prayer is declaring the realities of

heaven and appropriating what is ours in Christ

already, what we already have, how important

is it for us to know what heavenly realities

are? Is that important? How important is it for

us to know? who we are in Christ, and what we

have in Christ. If that's the only way we can

pray powerfully, then we need to know these things.

Some of you are thinking too hard. You can go

ahead and smile, and I can still see the smoke

coming out of your ears. It's okay. It's okay.

But I want to tell you this today. There's a

big difference between simply knowing information,

because we've handed out a little card that says

who I am in Christ and what I have in Christ.

So there's a big difference between simply being

aware of the information and knowing. I'm going

to say that again. There's a big difference.

Between just being exposed to the information

and even having a copy of the information and

knowing it. Listen to me. The way we're going

to know it is through relationship. The way we're

going to know it is through revelation. The way

we're going to know it is through experience.

That's how we're going to really know it. That's

how we're going to be established in it. What

God has already done for us and already made

available to us and who we are in Christ, we

have to be established in it, not just know the

facts about it. I mean, you can know the facts

about salvation, but until the Holy Spirit causes

it to come alive, you're not born again. Can

you agree with me, Jeff, from your testimony?

You knew all the information, didn't you? Did

I tell you anything that you'd never heard before?

But all of a sudden, it became revelation. Right?

That's it. It's like... And now you know by experience.

Now you know by relationship. But it started

out with revelation. Is everybody with me? Now

we talk about not walking by sight and walking

by faith a lot. Don't we? We sing about it. We

talk about it. Right? But guess what? Your spirit

has senses too. What we're talking about when

we say I walk by faith and not by sight, we're

talking about our soulish sight senses. Our flesh

senses. But our spirit has senses too. So there's

power in spiritual sight. Back to Jeff. All of

a sudden, you had a revelation. You had a spiritual

sight. Of God's love for you. Of God's, Jesus'

sacrifice on the cross for you. All of a sudden

it went from knowing in your thoughts to knowing

in your spirit. You didn't see it with your eyes,

you saw it with your spirit. So there's power

in spiritual sight. Here's what we've got to

get. We can understand these things when it comes

to salvation, but then we just close the door

on that and don't apply it to any other spiritual

thing. Most of the time. Oh, had spiritual sight

to become saved, the truth of God came alive

to a level that I received Him by faith. I received

His grace gifts by faith. But then we think that

after that, we're just on our own until we get

to heaven one day. Just got to do the best we

can until we get to heaven one day. Look to the

person beside you and say, wrong. It works the

same way. Works the same way. So the power of

spiritual sight is revelation and insight. By

your spirit. We are a spirit. We have a soul.

We live in a body. Has anyone ever got up early

enough to see a sunrise? I've seen sunrises all

over the place. I like it when I prepare to get

up for a sunrise instead of just can't sleep

and see the sunrise. You know, I'm so tired.

I'm told the sun come up. No, but I have prepared.

to go see a sunrise. When we lived at Myrtle

Beach, we went out there a lot, especially every

Easter Sunday morning. We had a sunrise service,

right? So we'd go set up sound and all this stuff

before the sun even came up, in the pitch dark,

getting ready for people to come. We'd have 400

or 500 people come out for our Easter sunrise

service. And here's what I want you to think

about. I'm at the beach, and you know, I can't

see much. There's some street lights around,

so I can see a little bit, right? But as I'm

out there, my eyes begin to adjust. I can see

a little bit more, but I still can't see a lot

of detail, right? But as the sun comes up, all

of a sudden, I begin to see more and more detail

as the sun comes up. Are you with me? Instead

of just seeing like a block of sand and a block

of water, all of a sudden, I start seeing yesterday's

footprints in the sand. I start seeing shells

near the water. I start seeing waves. More and

more is revealed to me. Everybody say revealed.

More and more is revealed to me. As more light

is shed on what I'm looking at. You know? I've

seen the same thing in the mountains. Have you

ever seen the sun rise in the mountains? You're

kind of up on a mountain and it's dark, you know?

And then all of a sudden, you begin to see. More

and more and more. I'll never forget standing

on the rim of the Grand Canyon. I wasn't there

at daybreak, but as the light moved, has anyone

ever been to the Grand Canyon and stood there

and looked at it a while? Doesn't it look totally

different? Like every 15 minutes, it's like,

this is amazing. All these different colors are

revealed. Right? All these different things that

you were standing there looking at the same thing.

Hello, somebody. You're looking at the same thing,

but more and more is revealed. If you knew where

I was going, you'd get happy. We're going back

to Ephesians 1. I've shared this in other sermons,

very briefly in other sermons. I've shared about

the importance of Ephesians 1, verses 15 through

Ephesians 1:15–23

23. But I've never preached on it. We're just

now getting to the preaching, by the way. All

that was introduction and getting you ready.

Look to the person beside you and tell them,

listen fast. You've got to listen fast. This

is Paul writing to the Christians in Ephesus.

Ever since I first heard of your strong faith

in the Lord Jesus and your love for God's people

everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for

you. I pray for you constantly. Now what comes

next is a powerful prayer. You can look at the

Lord's Prayer, and you can look at this prayer,

and you can see that Paul is praying for heavenly

realities. He's praying that what they have and

who they are in Christ will be appropriated to

them, that they will have revelation from God,

from the Holy Spirit, shining His light on it,

so that they will know it more and more and more

and more. And listen. Even if you know it a little

bit, there's always more. Look to the person

beside you and tell them there's always more.

Always more. Always more revelation is available.

Always more. Just like looking at the Grand Canyon.

Always more. And this is a powerful prayer that

will help you and me pray more powerfully. Here's

this prayer. Pray for you constantly. Asking

God. The glorious father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

To give you spiritual wisdom. Everybody say wisdom.

And insight. Everybody say insight. Go ahead

and say revelation. Because in some versions

it's translated revelation. We'll look at the

Greek words in just a minute. Of what those two

words are. So I'm asking God. He's a glorious

father. Do you hear that his name is special

to Paul? Glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

To give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that

you might grow in your knowledge of God. Look

to the person beside you and tell them, you still

have room to grow. Still have room to grow. No

one has maxed it out. You have not maxed it out.

We all have room to grow. Grow in our knowledge

of God. See, Paul begins his prayer not focusing

on power or authority, even though we're getting

to that, but with relationship. God, let them

see. Let them see. Just like the prophet said

to the servant when the servant was all messed

up and torn up, they were surrounded, thought

they were going to die. And the prophet said,

we're not going to die. There's more with us

than against us. And the servant went outside

and he said, all I see is a bunch of cherries.

All I see is a bunch of enemy army surrounding

us. We're outnumbered, we're surrounded. And

what did the prophet say? God, open his eyes.

Open his eyes. Give him some revelation. You

see, I've already got this. I know this. I am

established in this, that there's more with me

than against me. Open his eyes. And then he walked

back outside and looked. He's like, there's angels

and fire and chariots and whoo. I'm not scared

anymore. The goal of Revelation is not just information.

See, we can take revelation and try to turn it

into information. But the goal, the ultimate

goal of revelation is the intimacy of knowing

God personally, the intimacy of knowing Him experientially.

That's the purpose. That's the bottom line. It's

not just to get what you want through this revelation.

It's about intimacy with God. That word wisdom,

Paul says, give them wisdom. That means give

them a divine perspective. Let them see what

they're looking at like you see it. A divine

perspective. Boy, we need some divine perspective.

In our everyday lives, we need God's perspective.

We need God's perspective. I need God's perspective.

Because so many times I get in my own human brain,

my carnal thinking, like we talked about at Life

Group. I just get into my own brain, my own thoughts.

And they become more powerful to me than the

thoughts of the Spirit. What? what I have seen

with my spirit. This is so good. If it don't

bless you, it don't matter because it's already

blessed me and it's blessing me again right now.

But just like, just like the prophet, I'm praying

that you're seeing it too. I want you to see

it. So wisdom is us having a divine perspective.

Revelation, there's a Greek word for that, is

a divine unveiling. Because here's the deal.

Everything you need is already yours in Christ.

And a lot of times we don't see it. We don't

see it. God wants us to see it. He wants us to

see it. He wants us to see his perspective on

our everyday life. He wants us to see the divine

unveiling, his unveiling, because... This is

not going to just come to you just like... That

would be like it going from just before sunrise

to noon in a split second. And that's not the

way it happens. Revelation comes, and then more

revelation comes, and then more revelation comes,

and there's no end. We need to go from here to

here. Revelation is a divine unveiling in policy.

God give them a divine unveiling. Let them see

it. Let them see what they're going through today.

They were going through some serious issues.

Let them see it from your perspective. Let who

they are and what they have in Christ be unveiled

a little bit more for them. It's not that God

is holding out, but we have to seek if we're

going to find. I'll say that again. We're going

to have to seek if we're going to find. We're

not going to stumble over revelation. I'm going

to have to listen to this again. Verse 18. I

pray that your hearts... Everybody say spirit.

I pray that, it's not talking about the organ

that pumps your blood around your body. I pray

that your hearts will be flooded with light so

that you can understand the covenant hope he

has given. He's already given you covenant hope

so that you can understand, so that you can take

hold of the covenant hope he has given to those

he called his holy people. Look to the person

beside you and tell them, I'm a holy people.

When your eyes are open to who God is, your heart

becomes filled with hope in what God has promised

and in what he has already made available to

us. Hope isn't wishful thinking. I've shared

this so many times. Word hope in the New Testament

is not a wish, so hope, like I hope it don't

rain tomorrow. The Greek word for hope is elpo,

E -L -P -O, in the English rendering, in our

phonetic, what is it, syroph, whatever, our alphabet.

It's elpo, E -L -P -O, and it means to expect

with confidence. And to anticipate with pleasure.

To expect with confidence and to anticipate with

pleasure. So the hope that we have in God is

a confident hope. We can stand in confident expectation

to receive what he has already made available

to us. To step into who he has called us to be,

who we are in him. It's a covenant expectation.

Go ahead and get happy about it. Look at the

person beside you and say, go ahead and get happy

about it. Because we're supposed to anticipate

the fulfillment. Anticipate, right? We can anticipate

it with joy and expectation. With pleasure. The

definition says. So it's hope that keeps us steady

when life feels uncertain. Hope, the hope of

his calling reminds us of something. God didn't

save us from something just to save us from something.

We are called. We're the called out ones. He

called us to something. When you feel discouraged

or forgotten, remind yourself, God called me.

I belong to him. He's not finished with me. This

story doesn't end today with what I'm facing

today. It doesn't end today. My story isn't over.

Because I have a confident expectation in what

God has said. And what God has said is bigger

than what I'm facing. That's the revelation that

we need. That what God has said is bigger than

what I'm facing today. Hebrews 6, 19. Hope is

a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.

It leads us through the curtain into God's inner

sanctuary. You know what curtain he's talking

about? He's not talking about your bedroom curtain.

He's talking about the curtain from the tabernacle.

It was the curtain that only the priest could

go through once a year to offer the sacrifice.

It was going into where what they called the

Holy of Holies, where the ark, the manifested

presence of God was during the Old Testament

times. And you know what? I want you to get this

picture. I want you to get this revelation. Your

genuine hope, your biblical hope, not hope so

hope, but your confident expectation in what

God has given you and what God has provided for

you and who you are, your confident hope in that,

just imagine that there's a rope or a chain going

from your spirit To the real, not just the symbol

of the Holy of Holies, but the real Holy of Holies

in heaven. And that's where you're tied off.

You're not tied off to this earth. You're tied

off to the very throne room of eternity in the

real Holy of Holies. That's where your hope is

anchored. If it's just anchored in your mind,

in your human mind, in your brain, then good

luck. That's not where it's anchored. Hope is

the anchor of your soul. I need to say spirit

there. Not just your mind, will, and emotions,

but your spirit. Hope is the anchor of your spirit.

It anchors your spirit to the Holy of Holies,

the real Holy of Holies in heaven. So hold on

tightly to hope. Don't be quick to give up hope.

Verse 18. Everybody say revelation. I've already

read this, but it has another little part at

the end of it. I pray that your hearts will be

flooded with light so that you can understand

the confident hope He has given to those He called.

his holy people, who are his rich and glorious

inheritance. Now, if you got different versions,

you can see different translations. We're going

to cover both of them because I believe they're

both equally true. We have an inheritance in

Christ. Talked about it. Life group this week.

It's in Romans 8. Go look at it. We are joint

heirs with Jesus. We are equal heirs with Jesus.

Give us revelation, God. We are joint heirs with

Christ. Everything that he has, we have. That's

what it means to be a joint heir. Everything

he has, we have. Just to go back to my old example,

do you think Jesus has peace? Hello? Do you think

Jesus ever stands to the Father in heaven and

say, what are we going to do, God? What are we

going to do, Father? What are we going to do?

It's chaos. I don't know. I don't think we're

going to make it, Father. You think He ever gets

caught up in this loop? No. So if He has peace,

then I have peace. If he has joy, I have joy.

If he has love, I have love. Because everything

he came to this earth to accomplish, he didn't

accomplish it for himself. He already had it.

He accomplished it for us. You can also see it

this way. You are valuable. You're so valuable

that God calls you his inheritance. He provides

us an inheritance. An inheritance, you normally

don't get that until somebody dies, right? I

just want to remind you, Jesus died on the cross.

So the inheritance is yours. Now. Not one day

in glory. Hallelujah. It's your inheritance now.

You are God's treasure. If God had a wallet,

your picture would be in it. You're his treasure.

The Bible says you are the apple of his eye.

You are his prized possession. He purchased you

at the greatest price that has ever been paid

for anything in all of history. And that's the

blood of Christ. That's what he thinks about

your worth. He thinks you're worth the blood

of Jesus. Because that's what he paid for you.

So you are his inheritance. And we have an inheritance.

At the same time, listen, we need to stop disqualifying

ourselves. It's easy for us to do because if

we mess up, we begin to disqualify ourselves.

Oh, I'm disqualified from God's love. I'm disqualified

from... What God has made of it, I'm disqualified

from that because of what I've done. Listen,

you are not a disappointment to God. He delights

in you. And get this, you, everybody say, I am.

You are a part of his eternal plan and pleasure.

Verse 19. Look to the person beside you and say,

listen faster. I also pray that you will understand.

Everybody say revelation. Also pray that you

will understand the incredible greatness of God's

power for us. I can't tell you how many times

I read this and I was thinking, I know God has...

incredibly great power, right? How many of you

think God is omnipotent? He is all powerful.

Well, Paul is praying that they will understand

the incredible greatness of God's power that

is for us who believe in him. This power that

he's talking about and that he's praying about.

This power is the same mighty power that raised

Christ from the dead and seated him in the place

of honor at the right hand of God, honor at God's

right hand in the heavenly realms. And the Holy

Spirit is telling us that that power is for us.

Same power that raised Christ from the dead now

lives in you. God's great power is for us who

believe. It's not distant from us in heaven.

No, it's for us. It's working in us. God wants

to work his power through us. It's for us. The

power isn't just potential energy. It's resurrection

power. It's resurrection energy. Think of an

outlet. You got outlets in your house. The power

is always available. What am I saying? The incredibly

great power of God that raised Christ from the

dead is always available. And the more revelation

we receive, the more we can see in our lives.

Power is always available, but you have to plug

into it. You have to draw from it. And you draw

from it with powerful prayer. Many Christians

live unplugged. They have access, but they have

no awareness. They have no revelation. You got

to seek to find. And when you get revelation

of this, you can move to the point where in Christ

you can be powerful instead of being pitiful.

We need to start speaking this truth over our

lives. The same power that raised Jesus is alive

in me. Would anybody dare say that? Not just

saying it like you found some new information,

but saying it like I just got some revelation.

Let's say it. One, two, three. The same power.

That raised Jesus. Is alive in me. Let's say

it again. The same power that raised Jesus. Is

alive in me. And even. Listen. I'm not telling

you to not put your words in agreement with God.

Because if you will continue to put your words

in agreement with God. Hearing and hearing and

hearing. That's how you. search to find, and

all of a sudden one day, it won't just be information

anymore. You can know it. The first time you

say it, it might just be information. But through

saying it and through revelation, you can know

it. See, we don't pray for more power. We pray

for greater insight and revelation of the power

already within us. God's in us. We're the temple

of the Holy Spirit. All the power of God is in

us. It's not out in heaven somewhere. He's connected

with our spirit. And this is the power that will

give you victory over all fear. Victory over

all sin. Victory over all spiritual opposition.

That same power that raised Christ from the dead.

And Paul is praying for those Christians in Ephesus.

He's saying, let them see it, God. Let them see

it. Let them see it. Let them see it. They might

have heard it before, but let them see it. Verse

21. Now, everybody say Jesus. Now he is far above

any ruler or authority or power or leader or

anything else. Not only in this world, but also

in the world to come. God has put all things.

Everybody say all things. Even what you're dealing

with. God has put all things under the authority

of Christ. God has made Jesus head over all things

for Jesus' benefit. No, you better be listening.

God has done all that for the benefit of the

church. For the benefit of the church. Church

is not talking about a building. It's not talking

about organization. It's talking about the called

out ones. Look to the person beside you and tell

them, I'm a called out one. So Jesus is far above

everything in authority for my benefit. Give

us revelation. Let us see it. And the church

is his body. It is made full and complete by

Christ who fills all things everywhere with himself.

I'm telling you. This is a powerful prayer. How

many of you would agree this is a powerful prayer?

This is declaring revelation for heavenly realities.

Christ is the head. We are his body. The body

always takes direction and identity from the

head. That's why we're Christians. We identify

with Christ. We are in Christ. We are now the

visible expression of the invisible Christ on

earth. Jesus isn't walking around anymore. You're

walking around. And the glory of God is in you.

The power of God is in you. If you're in Christ,

hello? And our calling is not just to receive

revelation, just for me and my family and my

church. It's not just about me, me, me, me. Our

calling is not just to receive revelation, but

also to reveal Christ. to the world. Look to

the person beside you and tell them, let him

out. Let him out. We're supposed to have a river

of life flowing out of us. Let him out. Paul

didn't pray for God to give the Ephesians something

new. When I first looked at this prayer as a

prayer, I was thinking, well, you know, Paul

was praying for this stuff, this new stuff. But

as I dug in this week to study, I found out that

he wasn't praying for God to give the Ephesians

something new. He's praying that they would see

what was already theirs in Christ. There's nothing

new. Just like, get this, just like it was already

theirs, everything in that prayer is already

yours. So, when we adopt this prayer, we're not

praying for God to give us something new. We're

asking God to give us wisdom, revelation, and

insight to know what is already ours in Christ.

the result will be a more powerful prayer life.

Because the earnest prayer of a righteous person

has great power and produces wonderful results.

And if you pray powerful prayers, you can expect

wonderful results. So if you're not getting wonderful

results from your prayers, You might not be praying

powerful prayers. You might just be begging for

something that you want, something that you personally

want. God, I'm just going to beg you for what

I want. Here's my begging list, God. So, one

more time. You don't have to take pictures of

this. You can take a picture of it if you want

to. How many people we got today, Robert? Did

you count? Okay, so I got 40. I got 40 pieces

of paper right back there on the table. It has

the NLT version of Ephesians 1, 15 through 23.

Then it has the DFV. It's Dean Forrest's version.

Me converting this from a prayer that Paul prayed.

for the Christians in Ephesus, to a prayer like

I would pray, if I wanted to adopt this prayer

and say these things for God and ask Him for

revelation and insight and wisdom, I wrote it

down as if I was praying it. But I'm going to

remind you, even this could be mindless repetition.

So I'm not telling you to just memorize it and

pray it as fast as you can because you've got

other stuff you've got to get to, right? You've

got a TV show you've got to get to. You've got

something else that you think is more important

than seeking. You probably won't get any revelation.

So, I want to share it with you. Here's the way

I would pray this, and I would encourage you

to pray this. Father, I ask you for spiritual

wisdom. I ask you for revelation and insight

so I can grow in my relationship with you and

in my knowledge of you. God, I'm asking you for

revelation. God, I pray that my heart, will be

flooded with light. Just like those days when

I was out on the beach and the sun came up and

I began to see more clearly and I began to notice

things. God, I pray that my heart will be flooded

with that kind of light spiritually so that I

can understand the covenant hope. God, I've got

a taste of it, but God, I know there's more.

Flood my heart with light, revelation, so I can

understand more about this hope that you have

given me. Father, I want to know. I want to understand.

I want to take hold of the incredible power and

authority you have made available to me in Christ.

The same power, the same mighty power that raised

Jesus from the dead and seated him in heavenly

places. God, give me revelation that I am seated

with Christ in heavenly places. Even though my

body is still here on earth. Jesus. I'm dealing

with some stuff today. But I know something.

I know that you are far above every ruler, every

authority, every power, every leader, and everything

else. Here, now, but not only in this world,

but also in the world to come. You have authority

over all things. Even everything I'm dealing

with, God, you have authority over all things.

And you have that authority for my benefit. Because

you love me. Jesus, you're the head. And I'm

part of your body. Everything in this world is

underneath your feet. This world is your footstool,

Jesus. So since I'm in you and I'm part of your

body, that means everything is under my feet

too. Everything's under my feet too. Thank you,

Jesus, for filling me and making me complete.

Making me complete in you. Let it be. Let it

be. Amen. I agree. Right? That's what amen means.

It doesn't mean, okay, I'm finished praying.

Now I'm going to go to something else. It means

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