In His Name Devotionals
SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTENMENT
In His Name Devotionals
SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTENMENT
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.” (Ephesians 1:18 NIV)
This age has been enamored with the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment, especially since the influx of Eastern thought into the West during the ‘60’s. Result? The country is 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 does not come through such means. It comes only through the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14-16). That is why Paul prayed that God Himself would enlighten the hearts of the Ephesian believers (Ephesians 1:18).
One might expect Paul to pray for enlightened minds rather than hearts, but that is because the word heart is in many minds associated 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 (Matthew 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 Holy Word, He transforms and renews your mind (Romans 12:2) by filling you with “the knowledge of (God’s) will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Colossians 1:9). He teaches you to recognize and uphold what is excellent so that you will be “sincere and blameless” before God (Philippians 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 of God so that your spiritual progress will be evident to all (1 Timothy 4:15).
