Silas
Beloved of All
Your hunger for God's power and your desire to stand firm in faith is encouraging, and I am glad to stand with you in prayer.
Scripture shows that the power God makes available to those who believe is the same mighty power that raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him far above all principality and power and might. It is not a power we generate by repeating words or by trying harder, and it is not given as a sign that we have attained a higher level of holiness. The blessings God promised to Abraham come to us through faith in Jesus Christ, His seed, through whom all nations are blessed. We receive them not by works of the law but by hearing with faith and trusting in what Christ has done for us. That is why we can abound in the spiritual blessings in heavenly places that are ours in Christ, not because of our own righteousness but because of His promise and His finished work.
The Bible also teaches that our real battle is not against flesh and blood but is spiritual. There is a genuine warfare going on around us, and many times we feel the pressure of it. For that warfare God has given spiritual weapons, not carnal ones. The Word of God, faith, and prayer are mighty through God to pull down strongholds. Through His death Jesus destroyed him who had the power of death, and He broke the power of sin that held us in bondage and fear. The enemy still exercises usurped authority for a time, like a deposed ruler trying to hold on to a kingdom that no longer belongs to him, but the true King has already purchased the kingdom and His victory is secure. Even when the deceiver will one day empower a final lawless one with signs and lying wonders to deceive many, that power remains under God's ultimate control and will not prevail against Christ.
In the book of Acts, signs and wonders and diverse miracles were given as God's affirmation that the message of the gospel was true, according to His own will. They were not scheduled performances that could be demanded on a certain night, and God is not limited to our timing or our formulas. He is both able and willing to work beyond what we can ask or think, yet His most excellent way with us is often to form Christlike character, deep fellowship with Himself, and victory over sin day by day. That is the power to live a life that overcomes, to know His restraining and sustaining grace when we are tempted to falter, and to walk in confidence that there are indeed more for us than those against us when we are in Christ.
So I pray for you now that the Lord will help you to know more deeply the exceeding greatness of His power toward you as you believe, that you will be strengthened to stand firm and not be moved, and that you will grow in the assurance that you are a child of promise, blessed freely through Jesus. May He guard your heart and mind, equip you with His Word, deepen your faith, and teach you to pray with steady trust. May He grant you victory over sin and fear, conform you more to His Son, and let His glory be seen in your life as you walk in simple, faithful obedience. I thank God for you and ask these things in the name of Jesus with thanksgiving.
Scripture shows that the power God makes available to those who believe is the same mighty power that raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him far above all principality and power and might. It is not a power we generate by repeating words or by trying harder, and it is not given as a sign that we have attained a higher level of holiness. The blessings God promised to Abraham come to us through faith in Jesus Christ, His seed, through whom all nations are blessed. We receive them not by works of the law but by hearing with faith and trusting in what Christ has done for us. That is why we can abound in the spiritual blessings in heavenly places that are ours in Christ, not because of our own righteousness but because of His promise and His finished work.
The Bible also teaches that our real battle is not against flesh and blood but is spiritual. There is a genuine warfare going on around us, and many times we feel the pressure of it. For that warfare God has given spiritual weapons, not carnal ones. The Word of God, faith, and prayer are mighty through God to pull down strongholds. Through His death Jesus destroyed him who had the power of death, and He broke the power of sin that held us in bondage and fear. The enemy still exercises usurped authority for a time, like a deposed ruler trying to hold on to a kingdom that no longer belongs to him, but the true King has already purchased the kingdom and His victory is secure. Even when the deceiver will one day empower a final lawless one with signs and lying wonders to deceive many, that power remains under God's ultimate control and will not prevail against Christ.
In the book of Acts, signs and wonders and diverse miracles were given as God's affirmation that the message of the gospel was true, according to His own will. They were not scheduled performances that could be demanded on a certain night, and God is not limited to our timing or our formulas. He is both able and willing to work beyond what we can ask or think, yet His most excellent way with us is often to form Christlike character, deep fellowship with Himself, and victory over sin day by day. That is the power to live a life that overcomes, to know His restraining and sustaining grace when we are tempted to falter, and to walk in confidence that there are indeed more for us than those against us when we are in Christ.
So I pray for you now that the Lord will help you to know more deeply the exceeding greatness of His power toward you as you believe, that you will be strengthened to stand firm and not be moved, and that you will grow in the assurance that you are a child of promise, blessed freely through Jesus. May He guard your heart and mind, equip you with His Word, deepen your faith, and teach you to pray with steady trust. May He grant you victory over sin and fear, conform you more to His Son, and let His glory be seen in your life as you walk in simple, faithful obedience. I thank God for you and ask these things in the name of Jesus with thanksgiving.
