“’I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen
you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
so that Christ may
dwell in your hearts through faith.’”
Eph. 3:16-17 a(NIV)
Paul beseeched the Father on behalf of the followers at
Ephesus. Let’s study what he requested from God.
“. . . out of his glorious riches . . .” Paul
asks God to reach into his treasure trove of riches and search for what the
believers need to make their lives and their witness stronger. Our Father does
this for us who follow Him in this 21st Century.
“. . . he may strengthen you . . .” Everything
God brings into our lives strengthens us in time. We find we understand issues that appear
later in our lives because of what we have experienced in the past. We also can
understand another person’s similar circumstances and can extend God’s grace to
them.
“. . . with power . . . We find we are stronger than we think because
of God’s working in our lives. I have a greeting card to send to someone that
is shaped with the word “BELIEVE” die-cut as the front. When I open it, the
message is “You are stronger than
you think”
“. . . through his
Spirit in your inner being . . .” John Wesley once preached that when we give
our hearts to the Lord, a little bit of God comes into our hearts. We have His Holy
Spirit living inside us. God works through us.
“. . . so that Christ
may dwell in your hearts . . .” God places His Holy Spirit in us for a
reason. He creates in us a
place for Jesus to live in us and through us.
“. . . through faith.” We have to
believe that God works for us and through us. “Without faith, it is impossible
to please God. (Heb. 11:6)
From time to time we need to return to the basics of our
belief and concentrate on Who God is and thank Him for what He gives us and what
He does for us..
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Graphic: Readfreshmanna.blogspot.com