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 NIV
Paul began his prayer for the Ephesian church by asking God to give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Paul was not asking God to provide them with the Holy Spirit – they already had him (Eph. 1:13-14). So it would probably be best to understand this as a spirit of wisdom and revelation. That God would grant them wisdom. And that he would reveal himself to them.
The goal of this request was for them to know God better. You might understand knowing God better in two different but related ways. First, that they would come to learn more about God. An intellectual knowledge.
And as they learn more about him, they would also grow in their relationship with him. This is true in most relationships. The more I learn about a person, the deeper our relationship can grow. It is important, though, not to be content with just intellectual knowledge. That, in itself, has little value for us.
Paul’s prayer here is still appropriate. That you pray this for yourself. And that you pray this for other believers. None of us ever outgrow the need to know God better.
