Never Ending Power Supply
Rise and Shine for Jesus! \O/
By Pam Iannello (my late mother)
A ministry of New Beginnings
Baptist Church
Most of us have
experienced a time of intense physical activity that left us spent, completely
worn out, and unable to do much more than move. Ever felt that way? Perhaps a move has left you in this
condition, doing a thorough spring cleaning maybe, or putting in a garden
etc. What type of feelings would you say
go along with this kind of fatigue? At
times it might feel like you don't have enough strength to lift even a cup of water
to your lips! Your arms feel heavy; your
legs feel as if weights were tied to them as you try to lift them one at a time
to carry yourself up the stairs. You
experience muscle soreness, back pain, perhaps even
crankiness
starts to set in - a total collapsing in general.
How do we bring ourselves
back to a position of having physical strength? What about when we experience spiritual
weariness in our inner man… Would we experience weakness in a similar fashion,
or would it differ? How then, when we are spiritually worn out, do we bring
ourselves back to a position of having spiritual strength? Which weakness -
spiritual or physical, do you tend to address soonest? Turn with me to Ephesians
3:14-21 where we'll search for some insight in light of these questions. We
find here a prayer uttered by Paul while in prison, and he begins in verse 14
by saying, "For this cause I bow my
knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,"
First of all, there
is no real command anywhere in scripture showing that God requires of us a
special posture in prayer. Yet Paul here
bows his knees… What a picture of reverence, sincerity, sobriety, and humility,
amen? A picture of Paul's heart… The fact that the apostle is addressing God was
enough to bring him to his knees! Would you
sit while addressing any person of ordinary respectability? If you did so, you
would be reckoned very rude indeed! Would you sit in the presence of the king
of your own land? You wouldn’t
be permitted to do so! Is God then to be
treated with less respect than mortal man? Not only the person, but the
cause for which Paul prayed also altered his posture. Yes, Paul had an attitude
of dependency upon the Lord for all things…
I wonder, do we believe that it is through prayer that we lay hold of
God's power, thereby enabling us to behave and battle like Christians? If we did, perhaps we would bow our knees
unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ more frequently! It is only through
HIM that we are empowered – not through an anti-depressant, not through a
Christian book, not through psychology, not through our abilities, not through
anything this world has to offer…
Ephes. 3:14-21 (KJV)
For this cause I bow my
knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, [15] Of whom the whole family
in heaven and earth is named, [16] That he would grant you, according to the
riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner
man; [17] That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted
and grounded in love, [18] May be able to comprehend with all saints what is
the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; [19] And to know the love of
Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness
of God. [20] Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all
that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, [21] Unto him
be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.
Amen.
According to
this text, even though he was imprisoned, Paul prayed for the church at Ephesus
Philippians 2:4 (KJV)
Look not every man on his
own things, but every man also on the things of others.
The apostle Paul
prayed for those who were spiritually weak, without strength, without power,
completely worn out. He was concerned with the spiritual condition of their
inner man, not just the physical and material needs of the body. Christians
are too careless with the inner man! Perhaps if we spent some time in
prison our concerns would take on a different nature… Far too many of our prayers are focused on
the outward condition of man, and not the inner needs of the heart… Even so, Paul knew that power was available
for the inner man, the spiritual part of man where God dwells and works. 2 Cor.
4:16 says, “...but though our outward man perish, yet
the inward man is renewed day by day.”
Ladies, we can decay physically, but in spite of that, still be renewed
inwardly! God’s power can be tapped into regularly, but are we drawing on it? Paul did, and he renewed his strength as well
as prayed that the Lord would grant others this same might in their inner
man. It is a power that God shares with
all through His Spirit…
Ephes. 3:16 (KJV)
That he would grant you,
according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his
Spirit in the inner man;
What does it
mean to have the Holy Spirit empower the inner man? How do
we experience
the power of God? In our muscles? Our
mind? Our emotions?
Or in our
spirit? It means that our spiritual faculties
are controlled by God, and that we are exercising them and growing in the
Word. Ladies, it is only when we yield
to the Spirit and let Him control the inner man that we succeed in living to
the glory of God! This means that we
must not only feed the inner man the Word of God, but feast on prayer as
well!
I want you to
notice something important mentioned above in verse 16. Paul stated, “That He would grant you, ACCORDING
TO THE RICHES OF HIS GLORY...” Do you
realize what this means, ladies? It
means that the power of God, this very strength that is available to our inner
man, never runs out!! It is entirely impossible for us to use ALL
of God's power up! Our supply of human
strength runs out quickly, it doesn't go very far at all in comparison. But our Heavenly Father has an adequate
supply for each and every one of us to use over and over again! As a matter of
fact, His strength went all the way to the cross!! Praise God for a never-ending power supply, amen?! Well, why are we living powerless Christian
lives then? It is because we have not
bended our knees and asked God to strengthen us with might by His Spirit. Ladies, there are no trials in life that we could
experience that God's might would not be able to manage! Yet believers are walking around defeated and
discouraged and without spiritual muscle - with
no one to blame but themselves. Paul
knew this, and prayed for his brothers and sisters in the Lord - won't you too?
What did Paul want the Ephesians to grasp, why was he praying this way for
them?
Ephesians 3:17-18 (KJV)
That Christ may dwell in
your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able
to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height...
Yes, Paul
sincerely desired that these folk enjoy a deeper relationship with Jesus
Christ. Paul wanted them to comprehend that it was possible to have MORE than a
surface relationship with the Savior.
Ladies, when your relationship with the Lord grows in intimacy and you
experience the breadth, length, depth, and height of God, you will want others to
know Him the same wonderful way! Your
prayer life will change and expand beyond just praying for the physical needs of
people to praying for the inner need of their hearts. Are you experiencing an
ever growing relationship with the Lord; are your roots going deep into the
soil of God's Word? If you don't go deep, you won't go high. You won't reach the heights in your spiritual
walk that the Lord intends for you to reach… The storms of life reveal the strength
of our roots; how are you doing in your inner man today? Do you think Jesus is at home in your heart? Paul prayed that
Christians might have a deeper understanding of Christ because he knew from
experience that depth would sustain them through the trials of life…
Ephesians 3:19 (KJV)
And to know the love of
Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness
of God.
Paul also
desired that we lay hold of not only the breadth, length, height, and depth of
God, but also lay hold of His love!
God's love surpasses our understanding, our human knowledge. Sometimes in the trials of life we feel as if
God does not love us. Yet, when you develop
a deeper relationship with the Lord you'll begin to realize that all of these
trials are born of God's love and desire for us to know Him more intimately. If
God did not love us He would not have provided the Holy Spirit to impart the
power necessary for us to live successful Christian lives. It is not God who does not love us enough; it is WE who do not love Him
adequately. For if we did, we would
bend our knees more often and talk with our Lord, asking for a complete filling of His strength – and thank
Him for it as well!!
Ephesians 3:20-21 (KJV)
Now unto Him that is able
to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the
power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus
throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Paul seems to
want to use every word possible here to get us to understand the size of God's
power! He chose words like -EXCEEDING, ABUNDANTLY,
ABOVE, and ALL. Ladies, Paul wants us to
grasp that this power and strength is beyond our human measurement. It is bigger than we could ever imagine! And the exciting part is this power and
strength is accessible to the likes of us, on hand anytime we need it! God’s
power is a working power, not a power
to be stored up and inactive. It is
a power that brings His glory into the church!
Can you think of a healthier contribution any believer could bring to
the body of Christ??
So then, would
you say you are putting the power of God to work in your life today? Are you tapping into the Spirit of God for
the strength to face the trials of life
on a daily basis? James 4:2 says, "...ye have not, because ye ask
not." The Bible says that we
have a God who will provide power - if we ask.
Day after day things come into our lives that try to hinder or block the
power of God. Please understand that the
areas that God does not fill are available for the devil to fill; there is no
neutral ground. Have you allowed the Lord to become too small in your life? Have
you been feeling weak and defeated; do you need some spiritual strength back? How did you plan to get it?? Why not follow Paul's example! Bend your heart first and then your knee to
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and ask Him to grant strength to your inner
man. And while you're praying, why
not whisper the name of another soul that needs God's power too!
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah
60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
Revised 2005
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