Have you ever lifted a prayer multiple times only to get a no answer from God? You are not alone. I have countless examples of God denying my request. Sometimes His “no” makes sense later, but not always. God has his reasons for saying no. He wants me to know and understand that
God’s strength is greater than my weakness.
If I don’t get what I want, I’m forced to rely on God. The Apostle Paul testified to this kind of reliance in his second letter to the Corinthians. Today we will look at that passage of Scripture and we’ll discuss:
- The shocking reason for Paul’s “thorn in the flesh”
- What Paul’s unanswered prayers teach us about our own struggles
- One sure-fire way to tap into God’s strength
If you have a hard time embracing your vulnerabilities, if you hate being in a place of weakness, if you wish you were stronger physically, emotionally, mentally or all of the above, then I hope you’ll stay with me. At the end, I’ll share the secret to accessing an unlimited supply of strength when you are weak.
Declaring faith-building messages from the Bible will help you speak life and empower your tongue with truth. Today, we’re gonna jump in on Paul explaining his unanswered prayer about a “thorn in the flesh.”
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (NIV)
Paul said “I delight in weaknesses.” Can you imagine that? We’re going to look into how that’s even possible, but first I want us to focus on the promise in the verses I just read.
God’s strength is greater than my weakness.
No matter how great my weaknesses are, no matter how great your weaknesses are, God’s strength is greater. That’s worth remembering and repeating. Please say it with me now.
God’s strength is greater than my weakness.
God has reasons for allowing us to get into situations we don’t have the strength to get out of. Do you know why He didn’t remove Paul’s thorn? Before I tell you the reason God told Paul “no”, it’s important to note that Paul was used mightily by God. Paul wrote most of the New Testament, and had every reason to be impressed with his accomplishments. Many of the most frequently quoted Bible verses were written by Paul. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” comes to mind. Chances are you’ve heard that one, especially if you watch sports… even though that verse has nothing to do with sports. Listen to Paul’s own words regarding the reason for his thorn.
Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. (2 Cor 12:6-7 NIV)
I want us to look at the reason for Paul’s thorn because it might be the reason God allows painful trials in our lives. Did you catch it from 2 Corinthians 12:7?
- Thorns keep us from becoming conceited.
God cares more about our character than our comfort. That saying is what prompted me to talk about Paul’s thorn today. Paul responded to his trials in a counter-intuitive way. He said “I delight in weaknesses.” Why did Paul delight in his own weaknesses? Because that’s when God showed up. That’s when the hand of God reached in and provided for him. When we can’t do anything about our situation, we are forced to rely on God. When we rely on God, He can do anything in our situation.
Our weaknesses don’t hinder God. They actually make way for Him to move. That’s why I want you to believe and speak the truth in our declaration:
God’s strength is greater than my weakness.
Paul pleaded with God in prayer, not once or twice, but three times. God refused to take away Paul’s thorn for good reason. Not only to keep Paul from being conceited but also to show him that
- Thorns keep us reliant on God’s grace.
When your prayers don’t get answered the way you’d hoped, God hasn’t abandoned you. He wants to show you how His power is made perfect in your weakness. His grace is sufficient. It really is. I remember when I asked God to heal my hip when I needed total hip replacement surgery. I pleaded with Him, just like Paul, and He said no. I remember being in the little curtained room right before surgery and whispering to God, “This is it. I guess I’m not gonna get the miracle I wanted, but I still love and trust you.” A random thought popped into my head.
“What happened at Pentecost was a miracle, too.”
God often speaks to me in random thoughts like that, and it would be just like Him to bring up the fascinating Bible story in Acts chapter 2 when the disciples were empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak languages they didn’t know.
So, I said, “I want to do that, Lord. I want to bring glory to you by speaking someone’s language today.”
Right then the nurse came and wheeled me into surgery. The next thing I knew, I was looking up into the surprised face of the post-op nurse saying, “Do you speak Hmong?”
That was a crazy question to wake up to, so I said, “What?”
And he said, “Do you speak Hmong? When I came up to you just now, you greeted me in my native language.”
My crazy prayer in peri-op rushed into my mind and I started to get excited! I said, “I greeted you in Hmong? What did I say?”
But he asked a third time. “Do you speak Hmong?”
So I said, “No. I don’t.”
He shrugged and said, “You must have been babbling from the anesthesia.”
If you know the story about Pentecost, then you know the people who heard the disciples speak in their native tongues accused them of having too much wine. The fact the nurse brought up anesthesia confirmed to me that God was up to something. I insisted I wasn’t babbling and told him about my prayer to speak someone’s language. Then I asked him, “What did I say?”
God’s strength was about to be made perfect in my weakness, and I prayed the nurse would not only believe I had spoken Hmong, but also that the God of crazy miracles loves him enough to use me to greet him in his native tongue. When the nurse told me what I said, I’ll admit, it was easy to see why he assumed I would have to speak Hmong language in order to say it. But, right then, I repeated the phrase back to him perfectly. I tell you what, he went from the surprised look I’d woken up to, to a look of complete amazement. As if to prove God’s miracle, I called out to another nurse walking by, “Did you hear that I said—” and I repeated the greeting. Then, God allowed me to repeat the phrase to a third staff member in the hallway as the thoroughly amazed post-op nurse continued wheeling me into recovery. Of course, I couldn’t tell you hear and now what I said because I don’t speak Hmong. God had said no to healing my hip, but what happened at Pentecost was a miracle, too.
God proved strong in my weakness and it was the coolest thing ever. That’s why I can believe and speak today’s declaration with total faith:
God’s strength is greater than my weakness.
My final tip will help you tap into God’s unlimited strength.
- Accepting your thorn invites Christ’s power.
Getting a no answer from God can be disappointing. But if we dwell on the disappointment, we will miss out on the opportunity to invite the power of God to rest on us. Listen again to Paul’s words:
I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
I accepted God’s decision to not heal my hip, but I’m not gonna lie, I did NOT delight in the excruciating pain after surgery. I would’ve LOVED to have avoided that intense pain. But I can honestly say that I delighted in speaking Hmong that day.
I don’t have time to give you more examples that God’s strength is greater than my weakness.
But God has demonstrated time and again that He has a reason for every prayer request He denies. I hope you’ll remember that
- Thorns keep us from becoming conceited.
- Thorns keep us reliant on God’s grace.
Remember, the sure-fire way to tap into God’s unlimited strength is to accept and even delight in hardships and difficulties.
- Accepting your thorn invites Christ’s power.
Shall we invite the power of God to rest on us right now? I say YES.
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the example of Paul. He went through so much: stoned and beaten and left for dead. Shipwrecked and nearly drowned, but through it all he gave praise and thanks to you because he knew from his own experience that strength—the strength that you give—is made perfect when we’re weak. And so God, I pray that when we’re weak, we would look to you. That we wouldn’t grasp at things and try to make our own way, Father, but that we would rest and say, “Lord, I don’t know what you’re doing. I really don’t understand it, but God what is it that you want to show me in this? How can your power be exemplified through my weakness?” Show Yourself Mighty and strong even today, Lord to anyone feeling weak or or vulnerable or in pain. God, you are faithful to every promise you’ve made, and you’ve said that your grace is sufficient. So, I pray for your grace to be upon us today, in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
