7 In order that I might not become proud because of those many wonderful things that Christ revealed to me, God permitted Satan to send a messenger to humble me (OR, to make me sick). What that messenger did to me was painful, like [MET] a thorn pricking my body. 8 Three times I prayed to the Lord about it, begging him to take this away from me. 9 But he said to me, "No, I will not take this away from you. Instead, I will kindly help you, and that will be all that you need, because it is when you are weak that I can best work powerfully to help you." So, because of what the Lord said to me, I will very gladly boast about the things that make me seem weak, so that people may realize that it is Christ who gives me power to serve him.