Praying for the Strengthening of the Holy Spirit in the Inner Man
March 30, 2019      |     By: Sam McVay, Jr.      |      Category: Sermons      |      Location: Wichita
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Ephesians 3:14-17 (ESV)
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 
15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 
16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

Apostolic prayers are different than Apostolic principles.

Apostolic principles are facts that need to be believed not prayed for! 

Ephesians 1:13 (ESV)
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

Apostolic prayers are a faith-battle that is contending for what is not a guaranteed fact!

Ephesians 3:14-17 is a prayer for strengthening in the inner man by the power of the Holy Spirit to enable the dwelling of Christ in the heart.

This is a prayer for the soul of the believer to be empowered by the Holy Spirit so that deep satisfying Christ fellowship can fill the believers’ conscious experience.

This means: it is possible for a believer to walk without the dwelling of Christ in their heart.
Saved and sealed by the Spirit but not experiencing the abiding life with Jesus.

Reminder of the anatomy of a human being:
Genesis 2:7 (ESV)
7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature (soul).

Order of Body-Soul-Spirit

The reality is that the soul of man is the nexus between the spirit-realm and natural-realm in us.

Because of the fall of Adam, the soul is naturally disposed to source from as well as to find its satisfaction in the natural realm-desires.

A believer has had measures of transformation in the soul realm but still can become very “weak” leading to the feeding of itself from natural desires.

Paul is praying for the power of the Holy Spirit to fill and empower the soul realm (mind, will, and emotions) so that the believer will source from, and be satisfied with, the presence of Christ which will result in the manifestation of righteous fruit through the body.

Faith will diminish in our souls unless we are empowered by the Holy Spirit leading to a life ruled by the Holy Sprit and not by sight and physical desires.

It is vital that we pray with apostolic clarity contending for Holy Spirit filling which empowers the soul to fellowship and to abide with the Resurrected Christ inside of us. 

John 13:34-35 (ESV)
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 
35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.