How to Measure Spiritual Power
Look at the first chapter of John, verses 1–4:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
In understanding that Jesus is the Word, the Logos, we are called to truly partake of Him.
The phrase “He that eats my body” (referenced in Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24) signifies “He that consumes My words, draws sustenance from them, and derives strength from them.”
A man can also measure his strength by them. In other words, the power, authority and ability to command victory is equivalent to the strength of the word you carry in your heart. When I am facing an obstacle or trial, I can effectively measure my strength to overcome the problem by my confidence in God’s promise concerning the situation and my assurance that the promise in the word of God is speaking to me.
Isaiah 60:1 Arise shine, for your light is come…
It is when my light comes, that is, when the light of God’s word comes into my heart, that I am able to arise and shine.
A simple example would be concerning the promise of God’s favor. When the light of God’s truth, that His favor is actually upon me shines… in my heart… I realize that I am favored to win my race and therefore eager to face the challenge of my assignment – because I know I’m going to win.
So I step up to it. I don’t back down. Heaven has put the odds on me to win.
I was recently writing a curriculum on prayer and the promise of answered prayer. God’s promises were shining in my heart. Late that day, I was heading to one of our elder meetings when I got a text about one of our congregants who fell out of a tree and fractured his neck and several ribs. The most dangerous part was that there was bleeding on the brain.
When I arrived at the elder meeting, I shared with them what had happened, I could measure my spiritual strength and power by the promises of answered prayer that were shining in my heart. I knew we could pray to command the bleeding to stop. I grabbed the hands of my elders and practically threw myself on the table and prayed fervently and authoritatively for the bleeding to stop. I told my elders there was no way the bleeding would not stop. I said, “It’s impossible for that bleeding not to stop”. A little while later I received a text that the bleeding had stopped.
As stated in Matthew 4:4, Jesus emphasized that humans do not subsist on physical nourishment alone but on every utterance proceeding from God. The spiritual essence of humanity necessitates spiritual sustenance. Unfortunately, many Christians are spiritually malnourished, a problem leading to weakness and infirmity in their prayer life, love life, and faith life. This deficiency arises from a diet consisting more of human theories in preaching than the Word of God. All believers require nourishment from the Word of God. Job 23:12 acknowledges the prioritization of God’s words over essential sustenance, highlighting the importance of treasuring His teachings above all.