Claire's Prayer

It’s a simple question, with a very simple answer.  Why does God bless you?  Simply because He’s your Father and for no other reason.  Not because you did something good and deserve a reward.  Because He’s your Abba Father and He loves you.  It’s that simple.

What exactly has our Father blessed us with? “Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” It is worth noting that these are spiritual blessings, not material ones.  These are blessings that will never wear out and have eternal value.  Charles Spurgeon says it like this, “Our thanks are due to God for all temporal blessings; they are more than we deserve. But our thanks ought to go to God in thunders of hallelujahs for spiritual blessings. A new heart is better than a new coat. To feed on Christ is better than to have the best earthly food. To be an heir of God is better than being the heir of the greatest nobleman. To have God for our portion is blessed, infinitely more blessed than to own broad acres of land. God hath blessed us with spiritual blessings. These are the rarest, the richest, the most enduring of all blessings; they are priceless in value.”  Rich, enduring blessings.  Priceless blessings.  The kind of blessing which, when received, will cause you to thank God with “thunders of hallelujahs,” and to praise him with a profusion of gratefulness.

We are blessed!  WE ARE BLESSED!  We can say that with absolute certainty, knowing deep inside that our Father has blessed us.  Did you notice that the passage was in the past tense? “Has blessed us with every spiritual blessing…” Our Father has already blessed us.  These are blessings that you have already been given.  You have been given a bounty of good and perfect gifts, but perhaps you have not unwrapped them!  You might not have accessed them yet.  These beautiful blessings that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus has given you need to be discovered, unwrapped, and opened!

Reflections

1. Do you ever find yourself trying to earn God’s blessings instead of simply resting in His incredible love as your Father?  In what ways can you receive His blessings as a beloved child?
2. Which spiritual blessings do you often overlook or take for granted?  In what way might your perspective change if you focus more on the eternal, spiritual riches rather than those temporary, material ones that will not last?
3. What unopened or even undiscovered spiritual gifts might God already have given you that I haven’t accessed yet?  What is it that might be holding you back?

Step-By-Step

Set aside ten minutes to pray through Ephesians 1:1–14, slowly, soaking it in and listening as you read.  Ask your Father to reveal a spiritual blessing that He has already given you that you need to unwrap. Then begin to thank Him with “thunders of hallelujahs.” 🙌

From the very beginning of Ephesians, we are reminded that we are blessed!  Blessed beyond measure.   Blessed with abundance.  Nothing held back.  Our Abba Father delights in blessing you!  Who does it say blesses us?  “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus.”  Your Father.  The Father who looks at you with love in His eyes and desires to give you everything.  The Father who wants to be with you more than anyone else!  The Father who did not spare His own son’s life because of His great, unfathomable love for you.

James 1:17 says: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

The Father has blessed you with good and perfect gifts.  He would never give you anything less; they will always be good gifts, never substandard, inferior, or having flaws.  Blessings flowing with abundance from our Father, “who does not change like shifting shadows.” Our Father who will always be constant, never changing, faithful.

Personally, I like people who are constant and consistent.  Those people you know will be happy to see you when you walk into a room.  Friends who will greet you with a smile, a hug, and an encouraging word, no matter what is going on in their lives.  People who aren’t consistent make me nervous.  “Will they say hello or ignore me?  Will they walk past and pretend I’m not there?  Will they be too busy for me and brush me off?” 

Our Father is always constant. He will not change. He will not be like the shadows, fluctuating and changing.  He WILL bless you and will not withhold His blessings and favor from you.  Always.  He will always smile at you when you enter the room; in fact, He thinks you light up the room!  He will always be pleased to see you and will never be too busy for you!  He will always bless you.  Always.

Reflections

1. In what way does it change the way you see God to visualize Him as a Father who constantly delights in blessing you?
2. What are the “good and perfect gifts” that you can identify in your life right now?  How might gratitude and thankfulness help you see the blessings you may have been overlooking?
3. What are the ways in which you have struggled to trust God’s consistency?  How does knowing He “does not change like shifting shadows” bring peace to your mind and heart today?

Step-By-Step

Today, write down three blessings or “good and perfect gifts” that have been given to you from your Father.  Thank Him for every one of them by name, and ask Him to help you live in the present with an awareness of His constant, unchanging love.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,” Ephesians 1:3

It really is quite interesting to note that Paul mentions spiritual blessings over material blessings.  Why is that, you may wonder?  It’s simply because spiritual blessings last for all eternity, whereas all the blessings of this world will pass away.  Spiritual blessings are everlasting, life-changing, they change the way we see ourselves, give us security, and a sense of purpose.

Doesn’t this fly in the face of the belief that our blessings are on the earth, that we can name it and claim it, that we all deserve a Mercedes-Benz and an enormous house?  Our Abba Father is much more interested in your character than where you live.  C. S. Lewis puts it this way – “The Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have begun thinking less of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at heaven, and you get earth thrown in; aim at earth, and you get neither.”

When we are focused on the LORD, when our eyes are fixed on Him, those spiritual blessings will overflow into your life, and God will provide for you every step of the way!  But we must seek The Giver and not the gift.

Joshua once had a promise given to him that was an extraordinary promise: “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.” Joshua 1:3. Just as the LORD had promised Moses, every single place where Joshua went, that the sole of his foot stepped on, was his!  It was already given to him.  Of course, there was a part Joshua had to play; he had to take a step, and then another one.  He had to put one foot in front of the other in order to claim the land.  In faith Joshua stepped out, and in faith we must step out too.

We must believe and trust the LORD when He says he will give us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. We must allow our faith to rise up and, in obedience, accept those gifts.  Let’s not leave our gifts sitting on the shelf, unused and unwrapped.  Step by step, let’s accept all His gifts, His life-changing promises!

Reflections

1. When you think of being blessed by the Father, what do you picture first—material blessings or spiritual riches?  Does that reveal to you what you’re seeking most, and how can you change that moving forward?
2. Is there a “spiritual blessing in Christ” that you most need to unwrap right now (forgiveness, peace, identity as God’s child, wisdom, strength, hope, joy, purpose)—and is there something that keeps you from accepting that gift from your Father?
3. Is God inviting you to take that next faithful step like Joshua?  In what specific area of your life is that step, and what is God saying to you?

Step-by-Step

Write down a spiritual blessing that God has promised you in Christ with a scripture to accompany it, and then take one concrete “Joshua step” today.

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 1:2

Did you notice something really special?  Something that we just cannot afford to miss?  Our Father!  Our Father.  Not just anyone’s Father, not just Jesus’ Father, but our Father!  The very fact that He is my Father threatens to overwhelm.  The level of intimacy that this speaks of is deeply personal, and not just any Father but a perfect Father.  A Father that never disappoints, hurts, or frustrates, a Father that is ever present and always near, not distant or detached.

Do you remember learning The LORD’s prayer?  It starts with ‘Our Father!’  (Matthew 6:9) As Jesus introduced this new way of praying to His disciples, they would have been surprised.  Surprised at being ushered into the family, surprised at the thought of addressing the Great I Am as Abba Father.  Dearest Father.  Daddy.  It’s a little surprising to me, too, this wonderful invitation to be a part of the family of God.  A family that takes me as I am, encircles me, and beckons me to sit at the feet of our Abba Father.  I love how these two verses remind us that this is no earthly Father, but a Father in heaven.  A heavenly Father, one who is omnipresent.

Like two beautiful bookends, the beginning of The LORD’s prayer and the end start with Praise.  An absolutely appropriate way to begin any time of prayer.  “Hallowed by thy name!” May your name, Abba Father, always be glorified.  The word ‘hallowed’ means treated as holy, dedicated, consecrated, set apart, sanctified.  We praise You, Father, as You are a holy God. When we think of praising His name, we are giving praise to the nature and very character of God, His reputation, His goodness, His love.  That right there is the very essence of glorifying God’s name.  He is set apart, different from us, and as such, His name needs to be treated with reverence, never leaving our lips in any other way, respected.

Psalm 9:10 says, “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Those who know your name, who know your character, who know your goodness, who deep down inside have experienced your love, they trust you.  We can know someone’s name and not ‘know’ them.  But we know the living God, Our Father, and so we trust Him.

As you begin your day, your time of prayer, as you sit at the feet of your Father today, start with Praise, glorify His name, worship your Abba Father – He is worthy of it all!

Reflections

1.  Do you truly approach God as YOUR Father, or do you still feel distant from Him, removed, and find He is easier to see as God and King rather than your Dad?
2. If God is truly your wonderful and totally perfect Father, what fears, burdens, or uncertainties are you still carrying that you haven’t fully placed into His fatherly care?
3. Where has your Abba Father proven His Father-heart toward you in a personal way?

Step-By-Step

As you start your morning, call God Abba, or My Father. Then stop and take a moment to let that sink in, allow your heart to settle in His presence as His beloved child.

Right from the very start – gifts given and flowing from our beloved Father. “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 1:2. Grace and peace, two sought-after, treasured, priceless gifts. Make no mistake, these two gifts can only come from the Father and our precious Savior. Grace is the unmerited favor of God, which He lavishes upon you, not expecting anything in return. Wow – doesn’t that make you stop and think? God pours out His grace upon you, and you don’t have to do a thing!

I simply have to include this quote by F. B. Meyer because it is so beautiful and captures the essence of grace and peace! Read it slowly, let it sink in… “Grace to help in our times of need; Peace to keep our heart and mind. The one as the blue vault of Heaven above us, with its smile of sun, and breath of air, and reviving rain; the other as the blue depths of the ocean, tranquil and calm. But neither of these blessed gifts can be ours till we have come to recognise God as our Father. Be doubtful about that, and you will not dare to exercise the child’s privilege of claiming what you want from the Father’s stores; and you will miss the unspeakable rest which breathes through the heart of the child, as it nestles to the father’s side. Open your heart to the Spirit of Adoption that He may flutter, dove-like, into its depths; and, in the cry Abba, bear witness with your spirit that you are a child of God, and if a child, then a participator in His Grace and Peace.”

We are His children, and just as mine reach into my fridge anytime they want to and partake of the food within, so can we claim what we need from our Father’s storehouse. We are His children, His girls; that is who we are. That is the core of our identity. We can nestle close to the side of our Father and breathe in His peace. Here we are, Saints in Christ Jesus and children of the Living God, full of grace and peace.

When I was a little girl, I was baptized into the Methodist church, and I will never forget Reverend Ken Mew speaking this blessing over me in his soothing voice. “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26. And I still love hearing that blessing to this day. Here again, we see grace and peace. Grace first, peace flowing from His grace. Peace is always built on the foundation of His grace, His loving-kindness, His bountiful favor. That gift from our Perfect Savior that requires nothing in return. ‘Oh, what a Savior, isn’t He wonderful!’

Reflections

1. Grace is described as the unmerited favor of God—freely and abundantly poured out upon you, with nothing asked for in return. Are there things in your life that make it difficult for you to receive the Father’s grace without feeling the need to earn it? In what ways might that affect your relationship with God?
2. This devotion highlights our identity as a daughter of God—able to come to the Father’s storehouse, taking what we need. Are there ways you live like His beloved daughter who has total access to the Father, and where do you still hesitate, afraid to come boldly into His presence?
3. Peace is always built on the foundation of God’s grace. How have you experienced peace when you simply rested in God’s grace, and how might your life change if you anchored your peace in His grace all the time?

Step-By-Step

Today, instead of striving, intentionally receive from the Father. Take five minutes to sit with the LORD and quietly pray, “Abba Father, I receive Your grace and Your peace as Your beloved daughter.” Write down one area where you have been trying to earn God’s favor, and then give that over to to Him. Let His peace settle upon you as you rest in being His child.

Paul was always amazed that he was called by God.  “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,” (Ephesians 1:1a). A man who was bitter and angry, a persecutor of Christians, a Pharisee and Roman Citizen who sought to imprison and kill all those following Christ.  It’s almost as if Paul was saying, “Wow, I can’t believe it, because of God I am now a spokesperson for Jesus!”  Over and over throughout the New Testament, you see a man who stands amazed, whose boast is only in the LORD, never in himself.

Honestly, that’s me!  When I think back upon my past and where I came from, I am ‘gob-smacked,’ as my husband would say, that the LORD called me.  That He chose me when there are so many other, much better choices that He could have made.  My path was one where I only thought of myself, worked hard, and played harder, sadly there were a few casualties along the way, as there so often is. There was a “But God” moment in my life, a “Come to Jesus” moment!  God turned my broken life around, and I am still so often surprised by where this journey with my Savior has taken me.  Glory to God!

And so, Paul simply states in a humble fashion, “I am a spokesperson for God by the will of God.”  What I love next is that Paul is talking to the Saints in Ephesus.  “To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus,” (Ephesians 1:1b). The Saints!  Not some holier-than-thou saints with gleaming halos upon their heads, but real, everyday Christians in Ephesus.  Doctors, nurses, retailers, lawyers, clerks, you name it, people just like you and me.  This verse could say, “To the saints who are in ______,” insert your city here.  You are that Saint that Paul is talking to!

Now, let’s take the religiosity off Saint for a second.  Saint means one set apart, holy.  That’s you! When you said ‘yes’ to Jesus, you became set apart, and through His precious blood, holy, as if you had never sinned!  Wow, the very thought fills me with awe.  As we read through this time, as we seek our true identity in Christ, the very first thing to remember is that you are called by the will of God and that you are a Saint, holy and set apart.  Doesn’t that make you want to rejoice?  Stand a little straighter, Saint, lift your head a little higher, He has called you!

Reflections

1.  Paul always remembered who he was before Christ and how far he had come. How does remembering your own “before Christ” story make you thankful for God’s calling on your life?
2. Paul describes himself simply as an apostle “by the will of God,” not by anything he had done and certainly not by luck. Do you sometimes struggle to believe that God truly chose you—just as you are?  How can you begin to trust that God chose you as you are?
3. The believers in Ephesus were ordinary people just like you and I, but Paul calls them “saints.” How does redefining “saint” as “set apart and made holy through Christ” change your view of yourself and other believers?

Step-By-Step

Today, write your name and city into Ephesians 1:1b (for example, “To the saint, ____, who is in _____, and faithful in Christ Jesus,” Read this verse out loud as a declaration that you are indeed called by the will of God, you are set apart for His purposes. Walk throughout your day with a consciousness that you are His called and chosen saint, remember gratitude, and humility in the person He called you to be.