Do we know the strength and power of God in our lives?
Do we know the strength and power of God in our praying?
Much of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is concerned with the matter of strength for living for the Ephesians (e.g., 1:19-20; 3:16, 20; 6:10ff). Among the truths exposed by Paul are:
- God’s power is a gift for believers — made available and offered to those who believe:
and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe (1:19a)
- The gift of God’s power is given in proportion to the wealth and extent of His glory (which is boundless):
that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man (3:16)
- God’s power, given to believers, is manifested supremely in the resurrection of Christ:
These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places (1:19b-20)
- For all we know about the power of God, the extent of His power is magnificently, abundantly, infinitely more than we can imagine or postulate — for all we have seen of His power (think: the cross, the resurrection, the Red Sea, feeding 5000 people, creation), we have seen only the small workings of His fingers:
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us… (3:20)
- God not only commands us to find our strength in Him, but He also provides us with all the resources we need so that we might be strong in Him:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. (6:10-11)
This unimaginable power of God has been given to believers that we might know it in our own lives, and it is also, like Paul, to be the content of our prayers for others.
Are we weak spiritually because we pray weakly? Are our brothers in Christ weak because we have not undertaken to hold the ropes of prayer, asking for their strengthening in Christ?
Words of Grace 