Ponderings: Prayer and Power

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Sunday - 9:15 AM Sunday School, 10:30 AM Worship Service

by: Denise Robinson

02/03/2023

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Today we close the week with a final thought on "Holy Spirit" power: it fuels our faith. No prayer, no power. Little prayer, little power. Great prayer, great power. Great prayer, great faith. 
Faith in God through Jesus Christ can’t rest solely on human wisdom; our wisdom will never be sufficient to bring us to an understanding of God and God’s love for us. If we could get to God on our own, we wouldn’t need Jesus … and the Bible provides us with thousands of years of human history before Jesus where people tried on their own and failed. The Apostle Paul was one such example. He was intelligent and educated. He studied under the leading Jewish rabbi of his time. He likely spoke several languages, including Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. He was important and well-respected. But when Paul encountered Jesus on the road between Jerusalem and Damascus, none of that mattered. In an instant, his understanding of God changed. It was no longer about his accomplishments, but about what Jesus – working through the power of the Holy Spirit – wanted to accomplish in him. As Paul matured in his faith and understanding of the love and grace of God, he relied more and more on God’s resurrection power to work through him to reach others.
Years later Paul modeled for a young student of his named Timothy what it looked like to live out of a spirit of power. 2 Timothy 1:7: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Notice how power leads to love and how power and love lead to truth, rather than the reverse. Calling on the power of the Holy Spirit should not be a whisper, but a battle cry or triumphant shout of glory to God. We should shout out these well-known and often-recited words from Matthew 6:13: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.”
Let’s end our meditations this week with a prayer: “God, remove any weariness, pain, or fears that seem to weaken my faith. Send through my very being your strength and help me shout aloud your kingdom and your power and your glory. I surrender to your power and claim your promise of resurrection-strength power for, in, and through me. In Christ’s name, I pray. Amen.

Meditate At 8:00: Holy Spirit - YouTube

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Today we close the week with a final thought on "Holy Spirit" power: it fuels our faith. No prayer, no power. Little prayer, little power. Great prayer, great power. Great prayer, great faith. 
Faith in God through Jesus Christ can’t rest solely on human wisdom; our wisdom will never be sufficient to bring us to an understanding of God and God’s love for us. If we could get to God on our own, we wouldn’t need Jesus … and the Bible provides us with thousands of years of human history before Jesus where people tried on their own and failed. The Apostle Paul was one such example. He was intelligent and educated. He studied under the leading Jewish rabbi of his time. He likely spoke several languages, including Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. He was important and well-respected. But when Paul encountered Jesus on the road between Jerusalem and Damascus, none of that mattered. In an instant, his understanding of God changed. It was no longer about his accomplishments, but about what Jesus – working through the power of the Holy Spirit – wanted to accomplish in him. As Paul matured in his faith and understanding of the love and grace of God, he relied more and more on God’s resurrection power to work through him to reach others.
Years later Paul modeled for a young student of his named Timothy what it looked like to live out of a spirit of power. 2 Timothy 1:7: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Notice how power leads to love and how power and love lead to truth, rather than the reverse. Calling on the power of the Holy Spirit should not be a whisper, but a battle cry or triumphant shout of glory to God. We should shout out these well-known and often-recited words from Matthew 6:13: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.”
Let’s end our meditations this week with a prayer: “God, remove any weariness, pain, or fears that seem to weaken my faith. Send through my very being your strength and help me shout aloud your kingdom and your power and your glory. I surrender to your power and claim your promise of resurrection-strength power for, in, and through me. In Christ’s name, I pray. Amen.

Meditate At 8:00: Holy Spirit - YouTube

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