Toward the close of Ephesians 3 Paul prays for the people in Ephesus and in verse 16 he says, “That God would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man.” Out of God’s riches our inner man is made strong. Just what is our inner man? It is our intellect, our conscience and our will. This is a great prayer. Who among us would not want to have a greater, stronger intellect? Once that is in place we need a more sensitive conscience. The smarter we are the more able we are to recognize the needs of others or to create mischief. It works for good or bad. Thus the need for a stronger will. With our strengthened intellect and sensitized conscience we will recognize wrong and have the will to walk away.
This is a great prayer that goes on to say, “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” Often we speak of this verse in the context of how wonderful heaven will be. But Paul is also speaking about now. Because we have this better inner man, God is able to do marvelous things with us. Not just in the far future but right now. We will be better parents. We will be better employees or employers. We will be better citizens and use our strengthened powers to enhance life for everyone around us.
This inner man is made strong by the indwelling Spirit of God. If we want something meaningful to pray about, the inner man is it.
Written by Roger Bothwell on December 11, 2013
Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org