“Three times I appealed to the Lord … But He said to me: My Grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect through temptations of weakness.” ~ Paul (2 Corinthians 12:8-9)

 

Interestingly enough, Paul was answered here in direct accordance with the weakness of his query.  For we are not to pray to God for personal benefit or to appease our own suffering, but rather in raw Gratitude for life itself — by asking humbly for more opportunities to relieve the suffering of others.  To do the latter is to pray “in Christ’s name” and thereby always receive that for which one prays (i.e. the awareness needed to notice the omnipresence of said opportunities – see John 14:13-14), while to do the former is to suffer to the same degree of the selfishness of our request – in Paul’s’ case, immeasurably.

 

Note as well that “Grace” here is the unrequested gifts from God (Grace is not a gift, but a given) – namely the “trinity” of self-awareness, internal moral guidance, & the free will to apply the latter to the former.   And this is why God’s “Grace is sufficient”, for the simple reason that the application thereof transcends all suffering and trumps all challenge – and this is why the immense Power thereof is made perfect (i.e. made real) “through temptations of weakness.”

 

Filed under: My Favorite Verses by Scaughdt