A Prayer to Encounter the Power of God
By: Emily Rose Massey
“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, NASB).
Years ago, I believed that encountering the power of God was limited to a financial breakthrough or witnessing someone walk out of a wheelchair. It meant being moved so deeply in His presence while worshiping Him in song that I was moved to tears and fell to my knees or danced for joy before my King…
Yes, those were powerful moments in my life that impacted my faith in God in a very real way, but the more I have walked with the Lord and spent time in His Word getting to know who He is, I have come to realize the power of God extends far beyond those moments. God reveals His mighty power when He takes a rebellious sinner and purifies his wicked heart and conforms his life to look more and more like Christ day by day. Talk about witnessing the miraculous!
In 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, the Apostle Paul prays for the believers’ walk with the Lord to be strengthened and experience this kind of life-changing power from the God of peace:
“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, NASB).
It is the Lord who will bring our sanctification to completion, as we learn to yield our lives over to His grace and strength to walk in obedience to His Holy Word. The same grace that saves us is that which empowers us to live holy and set apart as witnesses to glory in this fallen world.
To be sure, I still sense His nearness when I weep on my knees in prayer and sing of His goodness and faithfulness on Sunday mornings with my church family, but there is nothing quite like knowing the Holy Spirit is with me every day sanctifying this selfish heart to look more like Jesus. I look back on how much He has changed my sinful life and strengthened me to learn how to choose obedience when my flesh wants to reign…that, my friends, is powerful. What a mighty God we serve!
Father, many of us cry out for an encounter with You. Perhaps some tangible experience in which we would sense Your nearness or witness a miracle. But what if that powerful encounter with You is not something we see or feel, but it is the very work that You are doing in our heart?
Lord, I pray that I would experience that kind of powerful encounter with You. I pray you take this hard heart, soften it, and mold it to look like Jesus. I pray You would give me a deeper hunger for Your Word that would help me renew my mind. Holy Spirit, give me the strength to not only walk in wisdom from what I learn in the Bible, but that You would empower me to continue to obey what I am learning so that my life would be a reflection of Your glorious Kingdom.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
