Year end prayer: 2017 blessings

Ephesians 1:13 New Living Translation (NLT)
13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own[a] by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.

Footnotes:
1:13 Or he put his seal on you.

Ephesians 2:13-14 New Living Translation (NLT)
13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.

14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.

Ephesians 2:17New Living Translation (NLT)
17 He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near.

Ephesians 3:11-12 New Living Translation (NLT)
11 This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.

12 Because of Christ and our faith in him,[a] we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.

Footnotes:
3:12 Or Because of Christ’s faithfulness.

Ephesians 3:16-21 New Living Translation (NLT)
16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

where is the armor of God?

The Lord’s Spirit (through apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter six) urged us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, by putting on the whole armor of God that we may stand against the wiles of the devil (6:10-11).

But where is the key? How do we put on the armor of God? Where is the armor? Here is the answer. The armor is already given. Every piece of it is already yours. Just read the following chapter, listen repeatedly, proclaim, write it down, meditate on it until it is yours in practical terms!

Ephesians 1 

New Living Translation (NLT)

Greetings from Paul

1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.

I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.
2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Spiritual Blessings

3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure.10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. 11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.
12 God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. 13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom

15 Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, 16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, 17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. 18 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.

19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. 21 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. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. 23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.

5 am lesson: seeing God from the will of His good pleasure

The 5 am gathering of brethren in Christ learned that seeing God, that is, reading His words, require starting from the end (the goal and end result intended by God). That is how they were led in the Spirit to read Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
When they read chapter one this way the eyes of their hearts opened, just as Paul had prayed (which prayer the brethren copied and prayed daily). The key verses of the first prayer are: Ephesians 1:17-19. without the opening of our spiritual eyes we cannot understand this letter at all.
What does God want to achieve as the end result for His people? A glorious body of Christ, holy and without blemish, presented to Him, be the praise of His glory, fulfilling the will of His good pleasure! That makes sense of all the blessings He has given to those who believe just to make sure they make it to the end goal, all in Christ and filled with Christ to the full!
How can they make it? That is exactly what Paul’s letter is about.
Here are some of the findings received by us:
God created humans. He knows what we are made of and what we can and cannot in our natural capacity and capability.
He has a good plan for us so He has given us what we cannot have in the natural so that we may make it to reaching His final goal for us in Christ.
1. He has given us Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus has completed everything He needs to complete (the whole salvation package which encompasses all things, the entrance into the kingdom of God and the power and authority to live as children of God).
2. In Christ He has given us all spiritual blessings, pertaining to living the victorious life of the children of God.
3. In Christ He has given us the power to do so, that is, the power of the Holy Spirit. (This is the same power that He raised Jesus from the dead).
“and [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His [own] right hand in the heavenly [places]. far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name…not only in this age and in this world, but also…to come.” (1:19-21)
4. God wants us to know this. Why? Because only by knowing we can live accordingly, manifesting His power in and for us who believe.
5. God provided the Holy Spirit for us. The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth. He gives us understanding and the mighty strength to live out the title and entitlement of children of God.
6. Through the Holy Spirit we can access every spiritual blessing (which in KJV is described as “all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places” 1:3) giving by the Holy Spirit.
7. By faith we are joined to the Lord and be one spirit with the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:17). By faith we become members of His body, of His flesh and of His bone (6:30). By faith we reach into the spiritual realm (heavenly places) and receive all blessings which God has given us (Ephesians 1:3) to enable us to live for the praise of His glory, according to the will of His good pleasure.
This means we will not subject our body and soul (body, mind, emotion included) under the bondage of the evil power (all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name…) which rule this world (physical and spiritual). How do we do this? By the power of God in us and for us and all the spiritual resources readily available for us to use (using the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and taking the authority of the Son of God Himself, which has been given to us as children of God).
Watchman’s suggested readings: from KJV, NKJV, AMP; Ephesians 1; 1 Corinthians 2; 2 Corinthians 3.;