Former Blackout Artist

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.”
Ephesians 1:17

You can know a lot about someone you’ve never actually met. You can know where they live, what they do for a living, who their friends are, and what they enjoy doing in their free time.

But there’s a huge difference between knowing about someone and actually knowing someone. Information doesn’t necessarily mean relationship.

That’s what Paul is getting at in Ephesians 1:17. He’s not praying for more information – he’s praying for something deeper.

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.”

In other words, “God, don’t just give them facts about You – give them You.”

I think the reason he prays this is because it’s possible to have proper theology and still be spiritually distant. We can know the Bible, defend our faith, serve faithfully – and still keep God at arm’s length. We can be surrounded by spiritual activity and still have very little spiritual intimacy.

True saving faith isn’t about collecting a whole bunch of information about God. No, it’s about being brought into a relationship with God Himself.

Paul assumes, and rightfully so, that we can’t manufacture that closeness. We can’t reason our way into it, or discipline our way into it. If we’re to truly know God, He must make Himself known to us.

And He has done exactly that in His Son – Jesus Christ. The God we could never figure out has revealed Himself. The God we seem so content to just study about from a distance has stepped into our world and invited us into a relationship.

So don’t settle for a faith that’s all head knowledge and no heart. Don’t settle for knowing about God while missing out on the joy of actually knowing God.

Open His Word. And not to just learn, but to meet Him. And when we pray, pray not just to speak, but to commune with Him. And when we walk in obedience, walk in obedience not as a performance, but to stay close to Him.

Our goal is to know God, not to know more about Him.