The Prerequisite to Power

Out of his catalog of hardships and sufferings, Paul specifically highlighted two experiences that were defining moments in his life and ministry.  The first was the night he had to be lowered in a basket from a window in the city wall of Damascus under the cover of darkness in order to escape with his life.  Not exactly the debut he had imagined.  The second was what he described as a thorn in the flesh, an affliction which so tormented him that he pleaded with the Lord to take it away.  Only to be told that instead of it being removed he would be given the grace sufficient to bear it.  Not exactly the answer he had anticipated.  Later, however, he came to see the crucial value and benefit of both.  In 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 he unfolds the reason why in a message entitled “The Prerequisite to Power”.  Which might help us to understand why that crucial ingredient seems in such short supply.