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Strength Training

Words of Faith Final

Strength Training

Words of Faith 2-12-2021

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2021

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

www.faithfellowshipweb.com

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Ephesians 3

 [13] I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory. [14] For this reason I kneel before the Father, [15] from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. [16] I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

 

     With a purpose so HUGE, Paul could not be easily discouraged even though he was in prison.  He prayed that the Ephesian believers would also not be discouraged because of the suffering of their leader.  Paul applied some "knee time" on their behalf. 

     Paul's example and prayer remind us of the exhortation found in Hebrews 12:12-- Strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.  "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

     What did Paul pray for? In these verses at the end of chapter 3, we have a prayer guide for believers and the church.  We will go into it slowly because it is so rich.  The first prayer is simply for strengthening. I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

      The reference here is deliberately not to "strength" that comes from outside but strengthening from within.  But don't misunderstand.  Paul was not calling believers to muster up some strength from within themselves.  This is a prayer to be empowered, increased in vigor, or wax strong to overcome resistance.  It is a prayer for strength from God within us, but it is the sort of strength that grows through resistance.  This strength comes from power through His Spirit in your inner being but grows when exercised.

       The word for power is familiar - dunamis - from which we get the word dynamite.  Paul's prayer for believers was that they would be strengthened through resistance against opposition because of the "dynamite" of the Holy Spirit within them.  This strengthening that comes from God is not an outward thing.  It is not about body, sinew or bone, worldly position, authority, or influence.  The strengthening that Paul prayed for is of the inner person, your spirit and character, that is able to resist and overcome.

      So how is your strength training going?  How is your resistance regimen?  If we join in prayer with Paul for one another, we will surely see more opportunities to grow stronger, resist the enemy, and strengthen our feeble arms and weak knees.  We will make level paths for our feet so that we will not be disabled in any way, but rather be healed.

 

      Father God, I pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ that they would not be discouraged. I kneel before You Father, and I pray that out of Your glorious riches You may strengthen believers everywhere with power through Your Spirit. Strengthen me.  In Jesus' Name.

 

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2010, 2021

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)       

2820 Business Center Blvd.

Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.