So the difference between “Lord, help me” and “Lord, enable me” is a matter of partial trust in our self-effort versus total reliance on Christ.
The abiding-in-Christ approach (“ Lord, enable me”) differs greatly from the “let go and let God” approach in its recognition that as renewed human beings we are called to use all the faculties of our being — our minds, our affections, and our wills — in order to live out the Christian life but to do so in total dependence on the Holy Spirit’s working in our minds, our affections, and our wills, empowering us with the power of the risen Christ. “Abiding in Christ” does not denote an absence of conscious effort on our part; rather, it indicates an all-out effort on our part, but an effort made in total dependence on the Holy Spirit to mediate the life of Christ to us.
The awareness that we are in Christ and that through abiding in Him we will “bear much fruit” (John 15: 5) should not promote passivity on our part. Rather, it should promote vigorous activity, but activity that is combined with total dependence on Him for the wisdom and strength to carry it through to completion.
Bridges, Jerry (2012-09-14). True Community: The Biblical Practice of Koinonia (Kindle Locations 362-376). Navpress. Kindle Edition.
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