Isaiah - Verse By Verse

Walking through Ephesians - Day 61

versebyverse | January 07, 2008 20:07

Thought:  To me, we need to realize every day how much we need God's strength and power.

Question:  Have I been strengthened in my "inner being?"

Scripture:  Ephesians 3:16 (NIV):  "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being."  

Now Paul prays.  He prays for Ephesian Christians.  He brings down to these individuals all the power of this fantastic God.  When we read and study about God, and begin to experience His awesome greatness, we are much more convinced that He will help us and answer prayers.  God has plenty of "glorious riches" out of which He can give help!  He has unlimited power at His fingertips.  We do experience weakness, yes, but God "may strengthen you."  The prayer of any Christian leader, like Paul, should be for God's great power to become available to weak believers.

How does this "power" of God come to "strengthen" us?  It is the spirit, God's Holy Spirit combined with our individual human spirit, in the deep recesses of our mind and soul.  It is not the outer shell, the body, or even the emotional make-up that is empowered.

Paul prays for this to happen in the Ephesians.  He begs God for it to be so.  Why would we have to beg God to do what God wants very much already to do?  It's because we are involved.  We have to participate in having this prayer answered.  Is this not the spirit of prayer always?  That we are drawn into what God wants, our wills caused to bend toward God?  The prayer is not to move God do more, (He has done it all already!!), but to move us to come closer to God so that we can "have" what He has already "given", meeting Him on the "ground" He calls us to:  near to Him and dependent upon Him.

Prayer:  Lord, please do strengthen me with Your power through Your Spirit in my inner being, but also, Father, strengthen those I pray for in the same, awesome way.  Amen. 

 

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