That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
The apostle Paul wrote this letter to the early Christian community in Ephesus — a major port city in what is now western Turkey — while he was himself sitting in a Roman prison. That context is not incidental: a man in chains is praying for others to be strengthened. Paul is not asking God for better circumstances, for a dramatic rescue, or for impressive spiritual experiences. He is asking God to use the Holy Spirit — which Paul understood as God's own presence living inside believers — to make them powerful from the inside out. The phrase 'glorious riches' is Paul's way of saying God has an inexhaustible supply of what he is about to give. The inner being Paul refers to is the seat of a person's will, identity, and capacity to endure — the part of you that holds when everything outside is under pressure.
Father, I have been running on empty and doing my best to hide it. Out of your riches — which I do not fully understand but desperately need — strengthen me where it counts. Not just my behavior on the outside. My inner being, the place only you can reach. Amen.
Paul was writing from a prison cell — no natural light, limited movement, chains on his wrists — when he composed this prayer. And the thing he considered most urgent, the gift he most wanted God to give these people, was not rescue. Not relief. Not a change in their circumstances. He prayed that they would be strengthened in their inner being. That is either deeply wise or quietly devastating, depending on where you are sitting today. There is a real difference between being strengthened in your circumstances and being strengthened on the inside. One is about relief; the other is about formation — the slow, often invisible work of becoming someone who does not crumble under weight. The Holy Spirit, Paul insists, works deep: below the surface of your habits and coping strategies, in the part of you that determines whether you will hold when the pressure is real and no one is watching. If you are running low right now — and many of us are, in ways we have not admitted out loud — this verse is an open invitation. God's riches have not run out. You can ask for what only he can give.
Paul prays specifically for inner strengthening rather than better circumstances. What is the difference, and why do you think a man sitting in chains made that the centerpiece of his prayer for others?
Where in your life right now do you feel the deepest deficit of inner strength — in your patience, your sense of identity, your hope, your ability to keep going when nothing changes?
Paul connects this strength directly to the Holy Spirit working inside believers. Do you tend to think of the Spirit as a source of everyday strength, or mostly something associated with dramatic or emotional moments? Where did that view come from?
If the people closest to you — your family, close friends, coworkers — were genuinely strengthened in their inner beings, how would that change the texture of your relationships and your community?
What would it look like to pray this specific prayer for yourself every morning this week — and actually sit with the expectation that God will answer it?
Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
Colossians 1:11
He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
Isaiah 40:29
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:15
To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Colossians 1:27
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Philippians 4:13
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Ephesians 6:10
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:9
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Isaiah 41:10
May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality],
AMP
that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
ESV
that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,
NASB
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
NIV
that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
NKJV
I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.
NLT
I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—
MSG