To the Praise of His Glory

Ephesians 1:3-14 - as a prayer - God, Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, I bless You. I thank You and honor You for blessing me with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. I thank You that You have done this in just the same way that You decided before the foundation of the world, (before Adam was created, definitely before I was born) that I would be holy and blameless before You. Lord forgive me for all my foolish efforts at righteousness in my own strength, when You have said it is Your choice for me, and You have provided the means in Your predetermined plan and strength. Thank You for loving me so much that You chose to make me Your child through Jesus Christ, in direct proportion to Your own good pleasure, and to the praise of the glory of Your grace. Thank You for graciously gracing me with Your grace (freely and abundantly lavishing Your grace on me) in the Beloved. Thank You that in Him and through His blood, I have redemption, the forgiveness of my sins, in proportion to the riches of Your grace, which You lavished upon me. (Lord, if You have so much grace that You can dole it out lavishly and extravagantly, that must mean the forgiveness of my sins is just as abundant! Hallelujah!! Glory to God!! And not only that, but your commitment to complete what you began in me is just as certain!) Thank You for revealing to me this plan, hidden through the ages, but to which all history points, that it pleases You to graciously forgive men and restore them to Yourself in Christ, so that ultimately, in Your divine economy, all things will finally add up in Christ. Thank You for the inheritance which I received through the death of Jesus (not through my death, but His death), that all things are summed up in Christ, and all things add up to Your predetermined purpose of molding me into the image of Christ, to the end that I exist 'to the praise of YOUR glory.' Thank You, that I, having believed the gospel of my salvation, have been sealed by You with the Holy Spirit of promise, as an earnest of my inheritance. Thank You for putting Your Holy Spirit on the line in this way, that if You do not come through with my inheritance, then You lose the earnest which You put up as proof of payment. Since You cannot lose Your Spirit, I must have a pretty sure thing going. There can be no doubt that the inheritance You promise is mine! So, Lord, with this assurance let me live in faith in You in such a way that my living will contribute to the redemption of Your possession and to the praise of Your glory! Amen.

Note the three times that Paul pointed out that God's actions were for the praise of His glory. If God is indeed the supreme being in the whole universe, then He is of the highest value. For Him not to act for the praise of His glory would be to deny His own worth. For us to act that way about ourselves is prideful. But not for Him. There is no one greater. Hence, there is nothing greater He can give us than Himself. There is no one or nothing greater that deserves our attention, time, devotion, adoration, and love.

God lovingly lavishes His grace on us, offering us entry into the Holy of Holies: the privilege of living always in His presence. He is sovereign. He does whatever He pleases. He is willing to accept responsibility for good and bad, because ultimately He is fully in control of all things. If He were not that powerful, He would not be God. He is worthy of our trust.