Jesus said,
"But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."
--- Luke 21:36 ESV
Life is full of testing for all of us. The end times, the Bible says, will be a particularly difficult time for testing our faith.
Our Lord cautions us to pray for strength during these most difficult times.
God is our Provider:
✽ God provides strength in the end times (Exodus 15:2).
✽ The LORD is our strength. (Psalm 18:1, Psalm 46:1)
✽ He provides provision (manna) (Revelation 2:17, Matthew 6:25).
✽ He provides what to say (Matthew 10:19).
✽ He provides hope (Jeremiah 29:11, Philippians 4:6).
As we abide in Him, the LORD provides everything we need.
(Philippians 4:19).
The LORD is our all in all.
So as we pray for STRENGTH, what is the LORD's response to us:
Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 NLT
(also read: Isaiah 41:10 NASB)
Strength is an attribute woven into all of scripture.
Thoughout the Bible, we are commanded to be "strong" and courageous. Our strength comes as we submit to, rely on, and abide in the Lord Jesus Christ.
As we seek and submit to the LORD (Jeremiah 29:13), He increases our strength and sustains us.
We are entreated to call upon the name of the LORD when we are in need or have trouble.
Scripture confirms that the LORD is our strength.
We are to rely upon God.
Conversely, the Bible says we should not rely on worldly things since they cannot strengthen us or save us.
Anything besides God is a false hope.
(Psalm 33:17, Isaiah 31:1)
TheBible says,
The way of the Lord is a stronghold.
(Proverbs 10:29)
Grace is strength.
(2 Corinthians 12:9, Hebrews 13:9, 2 Timothy 2:1)
Gifts of the Spirit strengthens.
(1 Corinthians 14:12 NLT)
The fear of the Lord is strength.
(Proverbs 14:26)
Submission as weakness to the will of God, strengthens.
(2 Corinthians 12:10, Hebrews 11:34)
The name of the Lord is a strong tower.
(Proverbs 18:10)
Joy of the Lord is strength.
(Nehemiah 8:10)
Waiting upon God strengthens us.
(Isaiah 40:31)
and
"those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength" (Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 27:14)
As the end times unfold, we will have to decide to either follow the world or follow the LORD Jesus Christ.
And for those of us who decide to courageously follow the LORD, He will strengthen us, provide for us, and rescue us.
How will the LORD provide strength to us in the end times? He will do it through the Holy Spirit as He always has in the past as we call upon Him. In the end times however, God will do something special as revealed in
Joel 2:28-29.
According to the Prophet Joel, in the last days, we will see another outpouring of the Holy Spirit (the latter rains), and it will be more powerful than the first and will be on all people.
This outpouring will STRENGTHEN the end time church.
The church will be awakened and given extraordinary power and zeal to finish the Great Commission in the last days.
The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. --- Psalm 37:39
"Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you." --- Deuteronomy 31:6
"Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord." --- Psalm 31:24
"Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go." --- Joshua 1:7
"And Joshua said to them, "Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. For thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight." --- Joshua 10:25
Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! --- 1 Chronicles 16:11
"I love you, O Lord, my strength." --- Psalm 18:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? --- Psalm 27:1
"O Lord, in your strength the king rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exults!"
--- Psalm 21:1
The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. --- Psalm 28:7
"The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed." --- Psalm 28:8
"The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." --- Psalm 18:2
"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation." --- Isaiah 12:2
The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. --- Psalm 118:14
"And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." --- 1 Peter 5:10
Psalm 29:11, Psalm 59:9, Psalm 59:16-17, Psalm 68:35, Psalm 73:26, Psalm 81:1, Psalm 86:16,
Psalm 140:7, Isaiah 49:5, Jeremiah 16:19, Habakkuk 3:19, Romans 16:25, Ephesians 3:16-18, Colossians 1:11,
1 Timothy 1:12, 2 Timothy 4:17, 1 Peter 4:11, Psalm 9:9, Psalm 61:3, Psalm 94:22, Psalm 144:2,
Philippians 4:13, Isaiah 25:4, Jeremiah 16:19, Psalm 31:2, Psalm 46:1, Psalm 105:4, Isaiah 40:29,
Isaiah 41:10, Ephesians 6:10
Encourage Other Believers to be strong in the LORD:
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up,... --- 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Strengthen the brethren. Be a Barnabas (which means son of encouragement)
"whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen" --- 1 Peter 4:11
"Say to those who have an anxious heart, 'Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.'" -- Isaiah 35:4
Prayer for Spiritual Strength
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:14-21
