Today’s Scripture: “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith” (2 Thessalonians 1:11).

While playing an online game, I found myself surrounded by the enemy team. I fought with all I had, but I couldn’t keep up. I was overwhelmed.

Just as my character took its last hit and went down, I noticed something flashing in the corner of the screen. It was the powerup icon. This powerup, had I employed it, could have taken out the enemies surrounding me. It was available to me the entire time, but I forgot to use it. Instead, I fought in my own strength alone.

And it wasn’t enough.

As I thought about what I had missed out on, I realized I often act similarly in my spiritual life: I try to accomplish things in my own strength rather than rely on God’s power. It’s not that I mean to do this; I simply forget to ask for help.

Last time we discussed how we have access to God’s superhuman power to help us complete the work He has called us to do. In whatever way we serve Him, whether it’s working or volunteering in church ministry, sharing the gospel with others, being an example of godliness in our work and personal lives, or however else, we can serve out of God’s limitless strength. The work that would be too difficult for us to do on our own God can accomplish through His power.

It’s one thing to know that we have access to God’s power. However, I know that I can go through an entire day trying to accomplish things in my own strength without asking for help. Maybe you do too sometimes.

In 2 Thessalonians 1:11, Paul said that he, along with Silas and Timothy (v. 1), constantly prayed for the Thessalonians. Part of this prayer was that God would powerfully fulfill their every deed prompted by faith. They often took the time to pray that as the Thessalonians did God’s work, God would accomplish that work through His power.

Are we taking the time to pray, as Paul did, that God would powerfully fulfill the work that we’re doing for Him? Or do we dive right into things without looking to Him first, forgetting to ask for help?

Working out of our own strength is exhausting, and it often doesn’t yield the fruit that we’re looking for. The key to avoiding working out of our own strength is to stop and pray that it would be God, not us, who accomplishes the work. What’s the key to remembering to do this? Practicing it often. (Sticky note reminders are always helpful, too).

Here’s today’s reminder: In whatever you’re doing to serve God today, pray that God would fulfill that work by His limitless power. Do the same thing the next day. The more we practice this, the more we’ll find ourselves working out of God’s strength instead of our own.

Today’s Thoughts: Are you working out of God’s strength as much as you would like? If not, how will you remind yourself to pray that God would accomplish the work through His power? How will doing so change the outcome of the work you do for Him?