Sufficient Grace (2 Corinthians 12:8–9)

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
– 2 Corinthians 12:8–9

This is such a powerful passage. Paul’s talking here about a thorn and his flesh, a messenger of Satan harassing him, and we don’t know exactly what he’s talking about here practically. There are all kinds of conjecture about what it might mean, but obviously, it was a nuisance, a harassment in his life, something he wanted to be gone, and that’s what he says in verse eight. “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me – God, please take this away.”

God didn’t. Instead, God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

2 Corinthians 12:8–9 shows how divine power shines through human weakness.

In other words, God said, “This thorn is going to stay, and you’re going to see my grace is sufficient for this thorn, and I’m going to work in ways beyond what you can imagine to show my power in your weakness.” Which then leads Paul to say, “Okay, then I’ll boast about my weaknesses so that I can experience the power of Christ.” And then he goes on in verse 10, I didn’t read this verse, but he goes on to say, “Okay, I’m content then with weaknesses.”

And this is where we start to get a glimpse into what this thorn might be. Insults, hardships, persecutions, calamities. This thorn is clearly something along those lines. And nobody likes feeling weakness, being insulted, walking through hardship, being persecuted, experiencing calamity.

None of us wants that. And it’s right and good. Paul says, “I’ve pleaded for God to take this away.” So it’s okay to pray to God, “Take this away.” And God may take it away. At the same time, as long as it remains, then God will show himself sufficient for you. God’s grace will be enough for you. His strength will be enough for you. His power will pour out on you that you might live not in your weakness, but in his power amidst thorns, insults, hardships, persecutions, calamities, all kinds of struggles and weaknesses.

2 Corinthians 12:8–9 teaches us to trust God even when relief doesn’t come.

So God, we think about our lives right now and things we might consider thorns that might fall into these categories. I just think about all the different people praying right now and all the different things that are coming to our minds right now that we would love for you to provide relief from God, that we would love for you to take away.

We would love for these things not to continue. And so we pray together with trust in your power that you can take them away. And if that is best, then you will take them away. So God, we ask that you take them away. We ask that these things would leave us, and we ask this with trust in your power, not just to take it away, but your power to sustain us and to uphold us, and to help us, and to strengthen us, and to enable us to walk through whatever weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, calamities, afflictions, struggles we’re experiencing.

This verse shows that grace sustains us through every trial.

We trust that you and your grace and your power will be sufficient for us and will rest on us and be made perfect in us. So we say yes, God, do all that you want to do in our lives, through our lives amidst the thorns and the weaknesses, and the insults, and the hardships, and the persecutions, and the calamities, and the struggles.

God, we trust in you and your power to one day take these things away for sure. We know that that day is coming, but until that day comes, God, we pray for your strength that you promise to give us according to your word here in 2 Corinthians 12.

A Prayer for the Baiswar People

And God, we pray this over people who don’t know you. We pray for people who don’t know Jesus around the world because they’ve never heard about him. God, we pray for the Baiswar people of India. For 89,000 Baiswar men, women, and children in this Rajput clan in northeastern India. God, we pray for the spread of your grace and your strength and your hope and your life that transcends struggles in this world. In Jesus, we pray that the Baiswar people would be reached with the good news of your love.

We intercede for them now. And God, we think about all those who are working for the spread of the gospel in really hard places, and all the weakness that they’re feeling and all the insults and hardships and persecutions and calamities that they’re struggling with. God, be sufficient for them. We pray in every way they need for the spread of your glory through them. Make your power perfect in and through their weakness. Help them to be strong, that the good news of your love might spread through them in their weakness. We pray all this according to your word in 2 Corinthians 12. In Jesus’ name, in the name of the one through whom we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Amen.