Revelation

“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you . . ."

– Ephesians 1

At MPACT, we see Paul’s prayer to the Ephesians come true nearly every day. Paul actually prays for revelation and for the eyes of our hearts to be enlightened. (Think about that imagery for a moment. Our hearts actually have eyes that need to be opened!) He prays a similar prayer of revelation in nearly every one of his letters. And we at MPACT are so blessed when we see that man or woman’s eyes come to life with revelation of who they are and who God says they truly are as His forgiven, holy, justified and righteous children.

That look of revelation when they realize how truly forgiven they are. Their past mistakes don’t define them anymore. Mistakes that seemed so monumental that they could not be overcome. The revelation that Satan now has no dominion over them anymore and how Jesus’ blood and resurrection are the keys to unlock the chains of his lies, deceit and temptations. We’ve seen addicts recover, suicidal thoughts disappear, physical and mental healing, relationships healed and strengthened, depression turned to hope, purpose and action and faith strengthened like never before. All because of revelation in the name and person of a baby born in a cave in front of barnyard animals some 2000 years ago in Bethlehem.

How many of us pray the prayers of Paul each day? Prayers that we will have revelation of who we are in Christ. Not just prayers for things, success, protection, a new job, and for Aunt Sally’s bunions to go away. But prayers for REVELATION. Prayers for understanding the truth of the gospel, the promise kept by God in Genesis 3 that a baby would be born of a virgin, that He would become flesh and walk the earth as a man, the forgiveness guaranteed by Jesus’s blood and our eternal life sealed through Christ’s resurrection making us one with God after being born depraved in this evil world? Do we pray these types of prayers this Christmas as we decorate the tree and hang stockings by our fireplaces?

Our prayer at MPACT this Christmas is for those who don’t believe in Christ to be moved and changed by our message of hope through our testimonies. Our prayer for those of us who profess Christ is that our revelation about who we become and our identity change upon salvation is so powerful that it brings us to our knees in awe, thanks and worship like never before. Our prayer is that we get past the shallow of the season and go deeper than the hustle and bustle that this time of year has become, through a revelation. We pray that you discover just one or two things about Christ and yourself as a result of your belief in Him.

Think about this for a minute. The word revelation means – something revealed to humans by God himself. Revelation is divine. It can’t happen in any other way than through God Himself. Revelation is the revealing of God’s truth, character, will and plans. Revelation is all God driven through his word, Jesus, creation and prayer. This Christmas we encourage you to focus on these things and take some time in silence to stop, breath, listen and pray for God to reveal himself to you like never before. That the awe of Him grows inside of you so His light will shine through you, bigger and brighter than ever before. Then others will see Him through you, so they can have the same revelation and know the hope you have and then share that same hope with others. All because we went a little deeper this Christmas and allowed Jesus to open the eyes of our heart.