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 How often is our prayer in arrogance rather than humility? "I am praying for what I know is best for other people"? "God, give me this thing I want and make it your will for me"? 

I write this today for two reasons. My husband is going to his doctor this morning, something he has anxiety about (long story), and I started to pray a very bold and presumptuous and me-centered prayer about it. 

The prayer should be for his primary care physician and for his ability to explain his needs and for God's grace. And my repentance. 

I bring this up because, well, it just happened and because I am concerned about my husband's health and ability to navigate the health care system (another matter entirely) and because we are moving into the second part of Ephesians 1 soon, a very intensely theological prayer Paul offers for the people of this southeastern Turkey church community. I will probably spend the biggest part of the rest of Lent on that. But not yet. First, we have verses 11-14

 [k]In Him we also have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things in accordance with the plan of His will, 12 to the end that [l]we who were the first to hope in the [m]Christ would be to the praise of His glory. 13 In [n]Him, [o]you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also [p]believed, you were sealed in [q]Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise, 14 who is a first installment of our inheritance, in regard to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory. (New American Standard Bible). 

I have bolded the key words I see here, or at least, key words related to new themes; Paul repeats the sense of how this plan has been God's foreordained purpose. He also is referring to the Jew/Gentile split, but in less obvious ways: the Jews are "we who were the first to hope in Christ" and "you also, after listening to the message of truth" are the Gentiles. 

The language is "business"--sealed in security by the Holy Spirit in the present is the down payment of what will come. The succinct "already and not yet" of our experience. 

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