Through The Bible in a Year - September 3, 2026

“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.” - Ephesians 1:15-16

Paul was far from Ephesus when he wrote these words. The people he loved—the believers he had watched turn from idols to serve the living God, now gathered in scattered house churches across that great commercial city but were far away. He couldn’t see them. He couldn’t be with them. And yet he says: “I do not cease to give thanks for you.”

Not “I used to give thanks.” Not “I gave thanks when I was with you.” But, “I do not cease.” Present tense. Ongoing. Uninterrupted.

Distance didn’t stop his love. Separation didn’t interrupt his prayer. He was far away, and he was still praying—specific, grateful, personal prayer—for people he couldn’t reach.

And what was he thankful for? Two things: their faith in Jesus, and their love for one another. That these formerly divided people—once separated by ethnicity, commerce, and competing gods—had come together in faith and loved each other. That the gospel had proven itself real in their community.

I remember during the Covid pandemic, when we could not meet in our church building, looking into a blank TV camera on Easter Sunday. I so keenly felt the absence of my congregation, that suddenly—without planning it—I said to those watching from distant screens: “I love you and miss you.” Then, I had to keep moving quickly to my planned comments because the depth of emotion was overwhelming me.

That’s at least some degree of what Paul is feeling as he writes to the distant Ephesians: “I love you. I’m far away, but I haven’t stopped praying for you.”

I remember admiring a pastor with a bad back who lay on the floor of his home unable to sit or lie comfortably, unable to read or watch TV. So, he asked his wife to bring him the church directory. And he spent his recovery praying through name after name. When he finally healed, he prayed: “Lord, these times of prayer have become very sweet. It’s too bad I don’t have time for this now.” Then, he said that he sensed the Lord’s quiet reply: “Silly man, you have the same time to pray as when you were well. But when you were well, you thought the church ran on your power. When you were sick, you knew it ran on Mine.”

Respond: Who are you separated from right now—physically, relationally, emotionally—for whom you could be giving thanks and praying?

Not just generically. Specifically. Thanking God for their faith and love, and praying for their needs.

Why not pray for them today – and tomorrow. Like Paul, let distance become an occasion for deeper intercession rather than disconnection.

Prayer: Father, thank You for the people You’ve placed in my life—the ones whose faith and love show me that the gospel is real. Help me not to cease giving thanks for them. Where I’m separated from them, let that distance deepen my prayer rather than diminish it. Open my eyes to see what You’re doing in and through them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.