Ephesians 3:16 – Prayer of Strength
that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
Truth to Learn
The Apostle Paul prayed for strength for us in our time of need.
Behind the Words
“He would grant” is from the verb didōmi, meaning “to give.” It is expressed here in the subjunctive mood, indicating the possibility of this occurring.
The expression “riches of His glory” is a reference to the wealth of goodness that God possesses.
The words “to be strengthened” are translated from the verb krataioō, which means “to increase in strength and power.”
“With might” is from dunamis (from which we get our English word “dynamite”), meaning “power or might.”
“Inner” is translated from esō, meaning “inside” or “that which is within.”
Meaning Explained
We mentioned in verse fourteen that Paul is bowing in worship to the Father. The particular form of worship here is a prayer for his friends in the church in Ephesus (and by application, for all believers).
This prayer of Paul’s contains five petitions, the first of which is identified here. He prays that we might be strengthened with might. On the surface that appears to be a redundant statement. How else would we be strengthened but with strength or might? It appears that what Paul is asking is that God would strengthen us “with His might.” After all, we have very little strength within ourselves. By ourselves we are no more than sinners on a downhill road to Hell. But – through God’s power and the abundance of His glorious riches, He can strengthen us with His mighty strength.
That this is Paul’s intention is borne out by the next phrase, “through His Spirit.” The way that God gives us some of His strength is through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s channel of blessing to us.
In the previous two verses we talked about the “ranking” of the three persons of the Godhead. This is not to say that any one of the three is more important than either of the other two. It’s just that for the purpose of dealing with the finite minds of fallen mankind, they have established a hierarchy. Each one of the three persons performs a necessary function. The Holy Spirit, as mentioned in this verse, is the one who enables God-given abilities within us. He is, in a sense, the conduit through which the power and enabling of God is “fed” to us. Thus, the “gifts of the Spirit” referred to in 1Corinthians and Hebrews, are really gifts of God, but they are given to us through the Holy Spirit.
In today’s verse Paul makes it clear that the strengthening power is not a physical or muscular strengthening. It is an inner strength. It is the inner strength which has allowed Christians throughout history to endure incredible hardships, and it reflects all the glory of God back on Him.
Application
Do you need inner strength to get you through a difficult situation? Rest assured that the Apostle Paul has already asked the Father to give you that strength. He prayed for you!
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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