Ephesians 1:15-23 — A Prayer for Spiritual Growth

In Ephesians 1:3-14, the Apostle Paul explains all the spiritual blessings that the believers have in Christ. In Christ, the believer has been chosen to be holy and without blame before God; the believer has been predestined to adoption as son; the believer has been made accepted before the Father; the believer has been redeemed; the believer has been forgiven of his sin, the believer has been shown the will of God, the believer has been sealed with the Holy Spirit; and finally, the believer has been given an inheritance.
 
After delineating all these blessings, the Apostle Paul goes on to tell the Ephesians believers how he is praying for them given all these blessings. He has been praying a prayer for enlightenment, for spiritual wisdom, for supernatural understanding (1:15–17).

How does this enlightenment happen?
How does one acquire spiritual wisdom?
How does one grow in the understanding of these spiritual blessings?

It is NOT by doing another Bible study. It is not that studying Scripture is the problem. That is what we are doing here. However, studying Scripture is not like studying Mathematics. It is more than an intellectual exercise. It must be accompanied by an attitude of humility and submission to the Lord.
That is why the Apostle Paul that he was praying that they would get this wisdom and understanding:

1. By knowing the hope of His calling (v. 18b)
2. By knowing the riches of His inheritance (v. 18c)
3. By knowing His power (vv. 19–23).

Every believer who wants to grow in their relationship with the Lord should understand this passage..