This morning we continue our series entitled, “The Year of Supernatural Manifestation”, with our mini-series on “The Miracles of Jesus.” After walking our way through all the miracles Jesus performed, I used the last miracle I covered, the feeding of the 4,000, as a launching point from which to discuss the importance of spiritual perception.
A few days ago we looked at a prayer the Apostle Paul prayed for the believers in Ephesus. I want to go back to that prayer this morning. Paul said:
“I always pray to the great and glorious Father, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that he will give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. The Spirit will let you know truths about God and help you understand them, so that you will know him better. I pray that God will open your minds (other translations say, “Flood your eyes with light”), to see his truth. Then you will know the hope that he has chosen us to have. You will know that the blessings God has promised his holy people are rich and glorious.” (Ephesians 1:17,18).
I am going to focus in on the line, “I pray that God will open your minds to see His truth.”
The New Living Translation reads, “I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand…”
The Holman Christian Standard Bible reads, “I pray that the perception of your mind may be enlightened so you may know…”
The J. B. Phillips Translation reads, “That you may receive that inner illumination of the spirit which will make you realise…”
The Message Bible reads, “I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do.”
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
- The Father never intended for you to attempt to maximize your purpose and potential in the earth, by living off of human effort, strength or intellect. He gave you His Spirit so that you can perceive and receive the things He has already planned for you to have and to do.
- God never intended for you to attempt to “do life” without spiritual clarity or divine focus. He provided you His Spirit so you could SEE what to do and how to do it.
- God is able to provide inner “light”. This light is designed to empower you to live life with clarity, focus and spiritual perception.
- Before you were Born-Again, chances are you perceived God to be a distant and disconnected Lord who governed the universe from heaven. But now that you are Born-Again, the Lord wants you to see Him as a loving, caring and sharing heavenly Father, who loves you enough to take up residence inside of you. He gave you His Spirit so that you could live your life connected to Him, receiving insight from Him on a daily basis.
- The Holy Spirit is your direct connection to God and the spirit realm. Through the Holy Spirit, the Father is able to reveal things to you, Spirit-to-spirit.
- The Father wants you to live your life focused and clear. He wants you to know what you are called to do, how He you are called to do it, and how He will be glorified through it.
- Once your inner mind is open to see God’s truth, once your inner-eyes are flooded with God’s light, once your perception is illuminated with divine revelation, not only do you live your life with clarity, but you also have peace. You won’t have all the answers, because there is a certain level of mystery to walking with God. You are going to have to trust Him when You don’t know what He’s doing. But for the most part, you will live your life informed by the Holy Spirit. This insight equips you to make decisions that line up with God’s will, so you can experience divine success in the earth, enjoying life along the way.
Closing Confession: Father, this is a year of Great Victory for me. I declare the the eyes of my understanding are flooded with light. You open my mind to SEE Your truth. You provide me the inner illumination of the Spirit on a daily basis. You bless me to live my life FOCUSED and CLEAR. I know what You called me to do. I know why I am on this planet. I know You will be glorified through me. I know I am here to honor Your name. I know I am going to heaven, and I also know You have many things for me to do before I get there. So You give me dreams while I sleep. You give me visions will I am awake. You speak to me when I pray. You send people to me to give me Words from You. You whisper to my inner-man throughout the day. You do all these things so I can maximize the purpose and potential You placed in me, and I declare that I do! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
