16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Paul is talking to new believers here. He is praying they have wisdom to understand God, that their eyes be opened to the truth of Jesus Christ and that they understand his greatness and his intentions for those that believe on him.
We as children of God should be following Paul's example. When we have a new convert in the church we should be praying for them daily. New Christians are as babies and they don't know as we know what God is able to do. It is our duty to pray for them that God will give them wisdom in his word. We are to pray that God will open their eyes to understanding and that they will allow the Holy Ghost to guide them and teach them. It is not our duty to go to them with all kinds of man made rules about how they should dress, how they look, how they should talk, or even who they should hang around with. Those things are not what God wants us to do, that is his job. A truly converted Christian will learn those things From the Holy Ghost! If we do as Paul did and pray for God to give them wisdom and and that he open their eyes to understanding, then the Holy Ghost will do the rest. As they begin to read God's word and learn of him they will begin to change. As the Holy Ghost dwells on the inside and starts guiding them, then you will see a change on the outside. If a person is a true Christian, they don't have to tell anyone, it shows in the way they walk, the way they talk, the way dress, and the way the treat others. It's called "THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT" and you will know them by the fruits they bear.
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance:
The bible teaches us to pray one for another. Many will ask for prayer from their fellow Christians if they are sick or in need but but the bible teaches us to confess our faults. If, as a Christian you have something that you feel is a fault, then go to a brother or sister in Christ and seek their prayers. The bible tells us where two or three join together that God is in the midst. I believe that many times we face battles in life that are hard because we don't do as God tells us to do. We try to stand alone when God wants us to be a body, fitly joined together, praying for one another.
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Mathew 18:20
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
To many times you see Christians tearing one another down instead of building each other up and that is not of God. The world will tear us down and hate us. Jesus taught us that the world would hate us because they hated him, but we are to love one another and pray for one another and so fulfill the word of God. To do anything less is going against God's own word. Blessed be his Holy name!
