Many people want power from God, but they do not desire the things that power is for. “You will receive power.” These are Jesus’ words to his disciples as he prepared them for his ascension (Acts 1:8). He was speaking of the coming Pentecost. However, the possibility of receiving power still holds true for believers today, even though there will not be another Pentecost.
There are other places in scripture not referencing Pentecost where we are told that we can be strengthened in power. Paul prays for believers that “[God] would grant you to be strengthened with power, through the Spirit, in your inner being” (Ephesians 3:16).
The idea of being strengthened in Power is not foreign to the modern evangelical mind; it is a common feature among the preaching of many televangelists and the like, yet few people seem to understand it or experience it.
I think the primary reason power from on high is not common among many believers is that we often desire power for our own glory. We love to say, “We can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us,” but what we really want is to play in the NBA or climb the corporate ladder. Neither of those is what the promise of power is for.
In Acts chapter 1, Jesus tells the disciples that they will receive power “to be witnesses.” One reason many Christians do not experience this power is that they have no desire to be witnesses.
The power of God in our lives has a specific purpose, and if those are not our purposes, then the promises of power are not for us. In Ephesians 3:16, the power is so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, to have strength to comprehend the breadth and length, height and depth, of the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge. If that is your desire, Paul prays for your strength. If that is not your desire, then it does not apply, and many of us have very little desire to pick up our Bibles.
Finally, some people do have this power, but they do not recognize it—the reason they do not recognize it is that the power from on high usually feels like weakness. When we are weak, he is strong. When the power of God is upon us, everything we think we could offer feels impotent, but that is when his power is made perfect. When you do not feel strong in yourself, that is when you should start paying attention to what the Lord might do.
My prayer for you and me this week is that we will receive power as the Holy Spirit comes upon us, but for that to happen, we need to desire to comprehend the love of God, we need to desire to be his witnesses, and we need to be willing to feel entirely weak in our own strength.
I wonder how many Christians truly desire those things. If that is you, then may the Lord strengthen you for his glory.
-D. Eaton
The Fight of Faith 