| Increase Your Value and Hunger for Spiritual Things |
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Ephesians 3:14-16, 1Timothy 4:7-8
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; *For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; *For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
How much do you desire to be strong in your spirit and to grow spiritually? How much do you desire to live a life that is holy and pleasing to God? How much do you desire to be used by God to do His work and bless the lives of others? You need spiritual might to do all these things. One way to know how much you desire all these things is by how much you earnestly pray for such things. These are things that God desires for you too.Another way to know how much you desire these things is by how much value and priority you place on activities that will produce such things in your life. That is the only way the prayer will eventually work. In our text above, Apostle Paul prayed for the believers in the church at Ephesus to receive spiritual strength, but for that prayer to manifest, the Ephesian believers needed to have the same desire and a willingness to yield to the leading of the Spirit in their lives. It was also imperative that they were committed to doing the things that would build their spiritual
strength.
One reason why Apostle Paul compared bodily exercises to godliness in our 2nd text above was because both require discipline and patience. The motivation for both comes from your consciousness of the long term benefits of them. Apostle Paul was not in any way downplaying the importance of exercising and taking care of your body. Rather, he was emphasizing how much more profitable it is to engage in godliness or spiritual exercises.
PRAYER : Heavenly Father, I desire the great profit that comes from developing spiritual strength. Help me to be more committed to spiritual activities and exercises.
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