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Of course the main source of power is God alone, as the Lord said to His disciples, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you" (Acts 1:8), and St. Paul the Apostle said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13).
Sources which people might mention with respect to a strong personality are : mind, soul, will and spirit - all these without God will be of no avail; for the Lord said, "Without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). But if God's power enters your life, it will appear in all such matters. So, ask God to give you the power that you may sing this beautiful hymn: "The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation" (Ps. 118:14).
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Some people may wonder about the words of the Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples, "he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do" (John 14:12)! But there is an important essential difference :
The Lord Christ works miracles by His own power, but the believers work miracles by His power. The
It is by the power of the Lord who works within them, who said, "Without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).
God's Children are supposed to be powerful, provided that God be the source of their power. They should not depend on, or take pride in, their own power.
This is an essential requirement for the power of God's Children.
Take for example David: undoubtedly he was weak if compared to Goliath the valiant who was boastful of his power, but David ascribed all his power to God, as we have discussed this issue before here on st-takla.org in other sections. He said to that valiant, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts... This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand; for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands." (1 Sam. 17:45-47). Thus David won over Goliath, because Goliath fought with his human power, while David fought with God's power.
The spiritual persons, in all their works, ascribe power to God.
When St. Peter and St. John healed the lame man at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, people were filled with wonder and amazement at the miracle. So, the two saints said to them, "why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?" (Acts 3:12).
Then the two apostles drew people's attention to the Lord Christ whom they crucified, saying, "through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know... has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all" (Acts 3:16).
God's power is unlimited and human beings are powerful through God.
When consecrating monks we read a chapter from the epistle of St. Paul the Apostle which says, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Eph. 6:10,11), as if we say to them: You are about to enter into battle with Satan and his forces and you need power. The power which you need should be the divine power.
What then are the characteristics of this power which they should acquire?
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