Good morning again! I hope you are all doing well and staying firm in Christ. I have actually been sick for the last number of days but found God leading me to this scripture that I hope will follow my last post and strengthen us all for this season we are in.

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father… that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart…” (Ephesians 3:14-17)

In prison again

If the apostle Paul followed the trend of prison tattoos he would have quite a few! His however would not be for the reasons that inmates usually have. His would point to Jesus Christ, his location and his imprisonment for the gospel. In the above passage Paul is writing to the Ephesian Church from prison. 

Far from discouraged we find a man rich in Christ and this ‘richness’ that he has on the inside of his heart is flowing out with joy in his letter to the Church!

On our knees

“I bow my knees before the Father…” (vs 14)

What a great way to start the day! I recently saw a post with the quote –

‘a Church on its its knees is far more powerful than an army standing on its feet.’

Being on our knees in prayer is not a rule or a tradition that we as believers have to follow, that would be just empty religion. Being on our knees in prayer before God is an expression of our need and dependency upon Him. Its saying at the beginning of the day – ‘I need you Lord and you have what I need.’ 

Weakness brings us to our knees

Being on our knees in prayer is the exact opposite of an independent heart that says I can tackle life in my own strength. However sometimes God will bring us to a place of weakness to re-align our hearts and our dependency upon Him. With the Corona Virus Pandemic I believe God is drawing people’s hearts back to him. In fact I wouldn’t be writing these daily posts if I was healthy and well! I would be working, I would be at the gym, I would be focused on projects around the house. Well, I cannot do that right now… and so strangely enough I have found myself in prayer and on my knees before God again.

“For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself… but that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” (2 Cor 1:8-9)

When God allows weakness or sickness or other forms of suffering don’t necessarily fight it. God may be drawing you back to Him!

Be strengthened

‘be strengthened with power…’ (vs 16)

From a place upon his knees Paul prays for the church to be strengthened with power. When God brings us to a place of weakness and vulnerability it is so that we might be strengthened with power through Him! That is the purpose. God wants us strong… but through Him! When we are on our knees, God is able to pour out his Spirit upon us and strengthen us with His power. 

Not a physical strengthening

‘be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.’ (vs 16)

Notice that the strength and power available to us is not a physical empowering, although God often does that and He still heals the sick today! But here, Paul’s emphasis is on our need for ‘inner strength’.

If you have ever fasted food in a time of seeking God, you will know that your stomach remains physically hungry. But there is a strengthening from God in those times on the inside that carries us through the physical hunger. He meets us in our vulnerability and need.

Some of the most powerful servants for God have ministered with physical weakness or illness.

“And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling… that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (1 Cor 2:3-5)

See how the two words ‘weakness’ and ‘power of God’ go together! What a great combo! God lifts up the humble in heart! Those that come with their own strength find it hard to find him, but those that come as they ‘are’ find Jesus very easily. 

That Jesus may dwell in you

so that Christ may dwell in your heart…” (vs 17)

The end goal of this strengthening is that Jesus Christ may dwell in your heart! God provides. God is rich, and out of the ‘riches of his glory’ (vs 16) he provides his very own presence to us. As we allow him, he fills us with His Spirit and Jesus dwells in our hearts.

“For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (Jer 2:13)

What is filling your heart this morning? God is using this season of sickness and pandemic to shake us up. To draw our hearts away from the usual ’empty cisterns’ we trust in. He is calling us back to himself.

An everlasting well

God wants to pull you away from the empty ‘wells’ that we have been drawing from and bring us to the living well of Jesus Christ. He has ‘living water’ (John 4:14) that can quench your soul more than any earthly water can. He is the ‘living bread’ (John 6:51) from heaven that can feed your hunger in a way that physical food cannot. In your loneliness God has provision for you. In your sickness, God has what you need. In your ‘quarantine’ God is your provider. Allow him to fill you today. Come to Him in prayer. Open his word and let Him fill you from the ‘riches of his glory.’