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I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better (Ephesians 1:17).

Let us begin at the end of this verse. Recall that Paul is telling the church how he prays for them. He heeds his own advice, \\u201cto pray continually\\u201d and \\u201cto pray in all circumstances\\u201d. Here he says, \\u201cI keep asking\\u201d. Understand that God is already answering his prayers. Reports have come to him regarding the faith and love of the Ephesian Christians. But he wants more of it, longing to see their growth in Christ. And so, he keeps on asking. Now he zeros in on an essential aspect of the Christian life, \\u201cto know God\\u201d. Faith and love awaken in us because we know God. Paul prays that we will know him better.

We should understand that there are two dynamics that work in tandem in our knowledge of God. First, there is information, facts. Things about God that we learn from the scriptures and from other Christians. We might call this second-hand knowledge. But this must be complemented and re-enforced with personal knowledge that can only come from our personal interaction with God. That is why Christians often talk about a personal relationship with God.

We develop a personal relationship with God as we wrestle with God in prayer; as we notice the ways that God shows up in our lives; as we experience the freedom that the grace of forgiveness brings to us; as we live out our faith by loving difficult people; and as we learn to give testimony of our faith in Jesus with those who believe different things; as we read the Bible, not as a place to gather facts, but as a love letter from God.

Christians have long recognized a paradox: God is everywhere and therefore, in a sense impersonal; and yet in relation to the individual person, God is entirely intimate and therefore, personal. So, with the eyes of faith, we can see God at work in many places while at the same time experiencing the intimate dynamics of a loving relationship with him.

We are not on our own in forging a personal relationship with God. Paul knows that we cannot do this on our own. We need help. And so, he prays that we will be given the \\u201cSpirit of wisdom and revelation\\u201d. It\\u2019s the Spirit\\u2019s role to continually reveal knowledge about God to us. The Spirit is given to all Christians and will continually give wisdom and revelation for life and understanding so that we know God personally.

One of the main tasks of the Spirit is to help us know what God has given us (1 Cor. 2:12). Paul\\u2019s prayer in effect says, \\u201cBy knowing God\\u2019s benefits, you will know God.\\u201d As in the doxology, God is viewed as a giver, who by giving makes himself known. Knowing God happens neither accidentally nor by magic. The Spirit makes possible knowledge of both God and his benefits.

How can the Spirit do this if we are not learning about these benefits from the scripture? Biblical facts can just sit in our heads. But the Spirit will persist in nudging us to personalize those facts. They are about and for us. Christian living requires a continual openness to the Spirit and his communication to us, not about strange mysteries, but about what Christians have in the gospel and about its significance for life. The gospel tells us what God has revealed about his character and his intent for people.

We continually need insight into the faith, for we have a darkness that needs enlightening (1:17\\u201318). This darkness is the result of sin as well as our inability to grasp the magnificence of God and the enormity of his work in Christ. God addresses our limitation and darkness and through his Spirit helps us to overcome this deficiency and to keep us ever learning about God and Christ.

Paul prays that the glorious Father will do this thing. As we have said, glory often refers to God revealing himself to humans (for example, Exodus 33-34). Here Paul asks that the father reveal himself to us. God is viewed as a giver, who by giving, makes himself known.

God, the glorious father, wants to be known intimately by you and me. Let this be the prayer for the church and for all people.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:17-21).