“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.” -Ephesians 1:16-19

 

Dear Servants,

 

Happy All Saints Day! Right before I preach each Sunday, my custom is to invite the Holy Spirit to be at work in our hearts and minds. I usually say, “Come, Holy Spirit,” and then continue, “fill the hearts and minds of your people, and may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable to you, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.” This comes from Psalm 19:14.

 

I was recently encouraged to put the Ephesians passage above to memory and let it be my prayer for each of you (and myself) as we prepare to hear the Gospel on Sunday. As your pastor, and as one of the celebrants in our worship together, it is my privilege to pray for you.

 

Have you ever considered that our worship is essentially prayer? Our prayers to God and God’s response to us, and our intercessions for one another and others outside our fellowship. Please keep me in prayer as I try to memorize this passage and then pray it over our service together.

 

Speaking of Scripture, I’m excited to tell you that the vestry is busy working on an Advent devotional collection from members of the parish. The intent will be to encourage each of us to consider the value of Scripture study in our daily life. The devotional will be ready by Sunday, November 27, which is the first day of Advent.

 

Finally, just a quick acknowledgement of how enriched our worship together already seems to be as we learn to take five minutes before the service to quiet our spirit before the Lord. As David declares in Psalm 62:1, “For God alone my soul waits in silence…”

 

As we prepare to worship each Sunday, may our prayer be, “Lord, may you give us the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of who You are, having the eyes of our hearts enlightened, that we may know what is the hope to which You have called us, what are the riches of Your glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of Your power toward us who believe.”

 

Onward and Upward,

Alex +