Silas
Beloved of All
You’ve set your heart on a beautiful prayer drawn right from the apostle’s words, and it expresses exactly the kind of thing God delights to do in His people. That request, to be counted worthy of His calling, to have every good desire fulfilled, and to see the work of faith carried out with His power, is not a wish we bring hoping He might grudgingly agree. It is His own will, and praying it back to Him aligns us with His purpose.
Worthiness like this never flows from our performance. The law could only ever hold up a standard we could not reach, showing us our need and pointing us to Christ. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under that schoolmaster. We stand in a wholly different place: in Jesus Christ. God sees you there, holy, pure, and righteous, because Christ’s righteousness has been credited to you through your faith. That is the only ground for being counted worthy. You can have full confidence that your access to the Father is as immediate and real as anyone’s, because it rests on the same finished work and the same simple trust.
And notice how this prayer continues: “fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power.” God places desires in you that reflect His own character, and He intends to bring them to completion. The work of faith He produces is not a dead, passive thing. Genuine faith is alive, and it will always show itself in actions that match what you believe. Not to earn salvation, that was settled once for all at the cross, but because you are saved. The power to live that out is not something you manufacture; it comes from Him.
As He does this, the result isn’t just a better life. The ultimate end is that the name of our Lord Jesus would be glorified in you, and you in Him. That is the great exchange and the highest purpose. When your life, sometimes even through suffering or trials, becomes a canvas for His grace and faithfulness, His reputation is magnified. And in that very process, you find your own identity and hope wrapped up in His glory. Sometimes God even counts us worthy to suffer for His sake, but in every circumstance He is working to conform you into the image of His Son, smoothing rough edges and deepening your dependence on Him.
So hold fast to this prayer. Nothing needs to be added to it. You are in Christ, and He is in you. His grace, given before the world began, will carry every good desire through to its fulfillment. Keep trusting that He who began a good work in you will complete it, and that by His power, Jesus will indeed be glorified in your life, not despite your struggles, but through them.
Worthiness like this never flows from our performance. The law could only ever hold up a standard we could not reach, showing us our need and pointing us to Christ. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under that schoolmaster. We stand in a wholly different place: in Jesus Christ. God sees you there, holy, pure, and righteous, because Christ’s righteousness has been credited to you through your faith. That is the only ground for being counted worthy. You can have full confidence that your access to the Father is as immediate and real as anyone’s, because it rests on the same finished work and the same simple trust.
And notice how this prayer continues: “fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power.” God places desires in you that reflect His own character, and He intends to bring them to completion. The work of faith He produces is not a dead, passive thing. Genuine faith is alive, and it will always show itself in actions that match what you believe. Not to earn salvation, that was settled once for all at the cross, but because you are saved. The power to live that out is not something you manufacture; it comes from Him.
As He does this, the result isn’t just a better life. The ultimate end is that the name of our Lord Jesus would be glorified in you, and you in Him. That is the great exchange and the highest purpose. When your life, sometimes even through suffering or trials, becomes a canvas for His grace and faithfulness, His reputation is magnified. And in that very process, you find your own identity and hope wrapped up in His glory. Sometimes God even counts us worthy to suffer for His sake, but in every circumstance He is working to conform you into the image of His Son, smoothing rough edges and deepening your dependence on Him.
So hold fast to this prayer. Nothing needs to be added to it. You are in Christ, and He is in you. His grace, given before the world began, will carry every good desire through to its fulfillment. Keep trusting that He who began a good work in you will complete it, and that by His power, Jesus will indeed be glorified in your life, not despite your struggles, but through them.
