Answer: God Himself will restore us and make us strong, firm and steadfast, (verse 10).
MORE INFORMATION AND/OR OTHER SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
This is a promise and not a prayer. The four words used here in this promise from God are, in the original Greek language, four verbs, and they are all in the future tense. The New American Standard Bible translates the verse as "will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you."
The first verb, translated as "restore" in the NIV and "perfect" in the NASB, is katartizo, which means "render artios" (fit or complete). It sometimes means "repair" or "restore." Then it took on the ethical sense, "to complete," or "perfect."
The second verb, translated as "make us firm" in the NIV and "confirm" in the NASB, is sterizo, which metaphorically (as here) means "to confirm; to establish; to support."
The third verb, translated as "make us strong" in the NIV and "strengthen" in the NASB, is sthenoo (found only here in the New Testament), and means "to strengthen."
The fourth verb, translated as "make us steadfast" in the NIV and "establish" in the NASB, is themelioo. It comes from themelios, which means "to lay a foundation; to found; to settle." So it means "to establish."
- God Himself will RESTORE us:
Psalm 23:1-3: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His Name's sake."
Psalm 51:12: "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."
Psalm 80:3: "Restore us, O God; make Your face shine upon us, that we may be saved."
- God Himself will make us STRONG:
Psalm 18:32: "It is God Who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect."
Psalm 119:28: "My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to Your Word."
Isaiah 41:10: "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
Zechariah 10:12: "‘I will strengthen them in the Lord and in His Name they will walk,' declares the Lord."
Ephesians 3:16-17a: "I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith."
1 Thessalonians 3:13: "May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones."
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17: "May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, Who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word."
2 Thessalonians 3:3: "But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one."
- God Himself will make us FIRM:
Proverbs 4:26-27: "Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil."
Ephesians 3:17b-19: "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
Hebrews 3:6, 14: "But Christ is faithful as a Son over God's house. And we are His house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast...We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first."
Hebrews 4:14: "Therefore, since we have a great High Priest Who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess."
2 Peter 1:12: "So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the Truth you now have."
- God Himself will make us STEADFAST:
2 Chronicles 27:6: "Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the Lord his God."
Psalm 51:10: "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."
Psalm 112:6-8: "Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes."
Psalm 119:4-6: "You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying Your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all Your commands."
Isaiah 26:3-4: "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal."
1 Corinthians 15:58: "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm [be steadfast--unmovable]. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
1 Corinthians 16:13: "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong."
2 Corinthians 1:21-24: "Now it is God Who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm."
Galatians 5:1: "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."
Philippians 1:27-28: "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the Gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved--and that by God."
