Giving Thanks and Mentioning in Prayers Ephesians 1:16

When Paul the apostle “heard of” the Ephesians' “faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints”, he shared how he did not “cease to give thanks” and “prayed” for them in chapter one and verse sixteen of his letter where we read:

Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

The verse begins, “Cease not to give thanks for you,...” Paul began with the words, “Cease not” which means “do not desist, is without restraint, leaving off or getting release” “to give thanks” or “being grateful for and having gratitude towards” “for you” which refers to the Ephesian church members. Paul did not stop “thanking” God for the Ephesian believers.

The verse goes on to say, “...making mention of you in my prayers;” Paul added, “making mention” or “producing, constructing, forming or fashioning remembrance and memory” “of you” which refers to the Ephesian church members “in my prayers” or “in Paul's addressing God orally and earnestly”. Paul told the Ephesians the manner in which he “gave thanks” for them as he “remembered” them in his “prayers”.

When we think through these words of Paul, we admire his response to the Ephesians' “faith” and “love”. He did not stop “giving the Lord thanks for them” nor did he stop “praying” for them. We should be inspired to do the same for others who have “faith” and “love” in the manner the Ephesians exhibited. When Jesus Christ becomes Lord and Savior in others' lives, we can do no better than “give thanks” for them and “pray” for them upon every occasion that presents itself to do so.

Next time Paul reveals his prayer for the Ephesians as he asks the Lord to “give unto” them “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.