There is another prayer mentioned in the letter I referred to in the last post. In this letter, Paul recognizes that these people have recently entered into God's family. They have recently started their relationship with God. There is a lot they need to know. There are a lot of adjustments they need to make. So, because he know "life" originates in the heart of people, he prays that God will teach these children of his, and that understanding and the basis of making right decisions would settle firmly as a foundation deep into their hearts.
Of course, he mentions some specifics. First, he prays for understanding of the Father. The gods of the Greeks and Romans were nothing like the One, True God. What pleases him is nothing like what pleased them. He is a God of holiness and a God of love. Both of these are qualities that God wishes his family to practice.
Second, he prays for understanding of what their hope is. They need to understand their destiny, their future. God's children are his inheritance. They will be his possession for eternity. There will be an eternal relationship of mutual love and enjoyment. The Father of All enjoys being with each of his children. He will enjoy being with them in eternity. And eternity starts now ... once a person chooses Jesus as his allegiance. So, God's enjoyment begins now. So, our destiny is not only being citizens of God's kingdom, restored and freed from the polluting effects of sin, but also a relationship of a loving father who delights to be with his children.
Third, he prays for understanding about the power he exercised in Jesus, and the power he can and does exercise in and for his family. For it is the same power.
The effect of God's power in Jesus was not just raising him from the dead. God placed him in the ruling position over the universe. He rules over every king, president and despot, from Obama, to Putin, to Xi Jinping, to Kim Jung-Un. And his family is his body.
I suppose a lot of speculation could be done about the effects of Jesus being in the preeminent position in the universe. (Eg. The presence of evil, the shape of politics and society, etc.) But what is written is that his family will be made full and complete. Jesus fills all things with himself. Which means, while Jesus' family will certainly fail, stumble, misread him and misrepresent him, they will also grow by being filled with his nature. Jesus' family will become more holy; Jesus' family will love more; and the world will see Jesus more and more in his family.
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