Ephesians 1:15-16

“For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.”

Is there anything or anyone in your life that you are continually thankful for? I’m generally thankful for most things in my life, but I rarely voice it or act on it. I’m thankful for my wife and four children, of course…but it’s not often that I tell them that specifically. I’m very thankful for the many friends that I have…but it’s rare that I actually say, “I’m really thankful for your friendship.” God has blessed me in innumerable ways, yet my “prayers of thanksgiving” only last a couple of minutes…if they happen at all.

Paul said that he had “not stopped giving thanks” for his friends in Ephesus, and I believe him! The Scriptures make it obvious that Paul was a man of prayer, and within his prayers he was a man of profound thanks. He was thankful for his friends…his ministry…his brothers and sisters in the faith…and his Lord and Savior. Paul spoke of his thanks…he wrote of his thanks…he showed his thanks…and he prayed of his thanks.

Finally, consider the opening part of today’s Scripture: “For this reason.” What reason is Paul talking about? Verses 3–14 lay out some of the most amazing truths of the Gospel and Paul was absolutely exuberant over the fact that the Believers in Ephesus possessed every one of them by faith! We need to be that thankful, too.