Prayer for the knowledge of God.
The apostle prays that the spirit of wisdom and revelation may be given, so that the Ephesian saints may have a fuller knowledge of God. Knowledge is an essential factor for promoting growth in grace. He does not pray for holiness, but for knowledge, because he knows it is only through the fuller knowledge of God, imparted by the Divine Spirit, that holiness can be promoted. Thus he prays for the Colossians that they may be "filled with the knowledge of God's will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding" (Colossians 1:9); that they may "walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing." He prays for the Philippians that "their love may abound in knowledge and all judgment" (Philippians 1:9); the knowledge and judgment being indispensable both for the regulation and for the increase of love. Similarly, Peter prays for the Christians of the dispersion, that "grace and peace may be multiplied through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord" (2 Peter 1:2). "The knowledge of God is thus the first and best of all the sciences."—T.C.