Grace to You :: esp Unleashing God's Truth, One Verse at a Time

Drawing Near

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened” (Eph. 1:18).

Spiritual enlightenment doesn’t come through self-effort or introspective meditation but through God’s
Holy Spirit.

Our society has been enamored with the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment, especially since the influx
of Eastern thought into the West during the 1960s. Now we are drowning in a sea of false religions
and New Age philosophies.

True enlightenment continues to elude many because they have denied its source and have turned
to gurus and teachers who have no light to give. They propagate self-effort and introspective
meditation, but spiritual enlightenment doesn’t come through such means. It comes only through the
Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:14-16). That’s why Paul prayed that God Himself would enlighten the hearts of
the Ephesian believers (Eph. 1:18).

We might expect Paul to pray for enlightened minds rather than hearts, but that’s because we
associate the word heart with emotions rather than with thought. But in Hebrew and Greek thinking,
the heart was considered the seat of knowledge, thinking, and understanding. For example, Jesus
said that evil thoughts come out of the heart (Matt. 15:19). Emotions are important, but they must be
guided and controlled by an enlightened mind.

How does the Spirit enlighten you? As you pray and study God’s Word, He transforms and renews
your mind (Rom. 12:2) by filling you with “the knowledge of [God’s] will in all spiritual wisdom and
understanding” (Col. 1:9). He teaches you to recognize and uphold what is excellent so that you will
be “sincere and blameless” before God (Phil. 1:10). He implants biblical truth into your thinking so
that your responses become more and more like Christ’s.

How wonderful to know that each moment of the day God is working within you in such a way. Be
diligent to pray and spend time in the Word so that your spiritual progress will be evident to all (1
Tim. 4:15).

Suggestions for Prayer

-Thank God for the Spirit’s transforming work within you.

-Reaffirm your love for Him, and express your willingness to be changed by His Spirit in any way
He sees fit.
-Be alert for attitudes or actions that need to be changed. Rely on His grace and strength in doing
so.

For Further Study

Read Genesis 27–33, noting how God used the events of Jacob’s life to transform his weak spiritual
commitment to one that was strong and unconditional (see especially Gen. 28:20-22; 32:9-12).

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