“Each time He said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT)
Every human being has weakness in some area or avenue of their life. We can be immensely strong physically but have weak character. We can have any mixture of physical, emotional, intellectual, and many other characteristics and be strong in some, but inevitably we’ll be weak in others. Factor in the spiritual aspect and you’ve got a recipe for weakness.
Paul writes in the very next verse: “That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” On some levels it’s an oxymoron, strength is born out of weakness or apparent weakness reveals true strength. So, what’s the point?
As we look at our life in Christ, where are we strong? Weak? Think of the “fronts” of battle for a believer, what heads the line? Temptation, persecution, trials, challenges, etc. In what setting or environment are we most wanting to be strong, but tend to be most weak? It may vary from person to person, but quite possibly all of our weaknesses are born in prayer.
If the Holy Spirit is the source of our greatest strength and we access His assistance through believing prayer, yet we too often fall flat on our faces when confronted by the enemy, wherein lies the problem? If we don’t ask, we don’t receive, so, the problem may not be weakness, but lack of appropriate and timely prayer.
Leonard Ravenhill gives us insight when he writes: “If weak in prayer we are weak everywhere.” What does that mean, to be weak in prayer? Does it have to do with the amount of time we spend in prayer? Our attitude as we approach prayer? Our expectations as we pray? Our understanding or misunderstanding of the purpose of prayer?
Any or all of these things and many others may attribute to our weakness in prayer, but the key as I understand it is childlike confidence that when we ask our faithful Father to do something that’s in line with His plans and purposes, He will do it. It may not be in our timing or in a way we expected or desired, but we entrust the answer to our Father because we trust His judgment.
It doesn’t matter how loud or long we pray, it has more to do with the attitude of our heart. Are we asking or demanding; expecting our will to be carried out or His; anticipating a favorable reply or doubting; secretly wanting Him to do what we want or leaving the outcome up to Him?
Strength in prayer translates into confidence in the prayer-Answerer! So, conversely, weakness in prayer is a lack of confidence, doubt, or a wrong motive in asking in the first place. Often the greatest weakness in prayer is a lack of prayer, a dependence on our own understanding, following our “gut” rather than seeking an outcome from God.
Wanting what God wants as the foundation of all our asking, to me, as I understand prayer, is the key to strength in prayer. As Jesus prayed in the garden: “Father, not My will, but Yours be done!” We too often ask with such a limited understanding of outcomes, not realizing the Father sees from beginning to end, every conceivable scenario. Not to trust His judgment is truly weakness in prayer.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 