Ephesians 3:16 – that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,

Paul is asking that all saints might be spiritually strengthened, not according to our abilities, but rather, according to the riches of His glory. There is a big difference between the expressions “out of the riches” and “according to the riches.” This is like a wealthy person giving a small amount; that would be out of his riches, and not in proportion to his riches. Paul asks that God will give strength according to the riches of His reputation. Since the Lord is infinitely rich in glory, you should get ready for an abundant outpouring! Why should you only ask for a little from your exceedingly wealthy King? The blessing Paul seeks is one of spiritual power, not the power to perform spectacular miracles, but rather the spiritual passion needed to be mature, stable, intelligent Christians. The One who imparts this power is the Holy Spirit. This power is experienced in the spiritual part of your nature, the inner man. It is the inner man that delights in the law of God (Romans 7:22). It is the inner man that is renewed day by day, even though the outward man is perishing (2 Corinthians 4:16). Though it is of God, your inner man constantly needs strength, growth, and development.

Challenge:

Every moment you spend on this side of heaven, is a moment you need to grow in spiritual maturity. Not one of us will ever arrive at spiritual perfection as long as we are still here on earth. There will always be work that needs to be done and lessons that need to be learned. This is why Paul was constantly praying for the believers in the various churches he planted. This is why Paul would ask them to be praying for him as well. He needed the Spirit’s assistance to accomplish the Lord’s will for his life. You and I are no different than Paul. We need the Lord’s help every single moment of our day. Make this your challenge for the week, at some point in your day take a moment and ask God through prayer that He would strengthen you into the spiritual power house He wants you to be. You see, when you are functioning at your greatest potential, you will be most effective at dealing with the issues in your life, as well as capable of assisting others in whatever they may be going through. So, not only will you feel better about where you are in life, you will receive the benefit of coming along side those in need around you. May God bless you and use you.