Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Cor. 12:10

All-Powerful God,

We confess, 

we in Western culture 

crave power, control, and independence.

 The last thing we want 

is to be seen as weak. 

And yet, weakness is the way of Christ, 

so it must be our way as well.

The apostle Paul understood that, 

so in the face of accusations 

that he wasn’t an apostle, 

he countered the boasting of the “super-apostles” 

with some boasting of his own:

“If I must boast, 

I will boast of the things 

that show my weakness” (2 Cor. 11:30). 

And then he mentions how he was lowered in a basket through the window of a wall in Damascus, of all places, 

a place he went to persecute Jews only to be knocked down on the road, 

struck blind, by his Lord and Savior himself. 

Paul shares many other weaknesses in 2 Corinthians, 

a book that’s all about weakness as the way 

of followers of Christ. 

He asked that you would relieve him from a “thorn in the flesh,” 

but you did not. 

Instead, you said, 

“My grace is sufficient for you, 

for my power is made perfect in your weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). 

Lord, we know we really are weak — 

[for each of these areas, name any weaknesses you have]

weak in our bodies,  

weak in our work,

weak in our wills,

Weak in our faith,

Weak in our hope,

Weak in our love.

We believe 

that you your power is made perfect

in and through our weakness. 

Help our unbelief.

In Jesus’s name. Amen. 

Read 2 Corinthians 11:30-12:10.