Jakorosin Darksbane wrote: Well, there are two ways I have thought of to do this:
I've used both of these in my work.
Jakorosin Darksbane wrote: The way I usually do this is to set up Cobhaic powers in such a fashion that they're granted by God, but God is NOT the power source. There is a power source (naturally occurring in the world, usually somehow linked to 'powering Creation') which the characters draw on to perform their 'magical' feats. They're limited by their innate strength (how much they can handle), countermeasures (ways of preventing access to the power sources), and perhaps finity (how much is available) [is that even a word? XD].
As far as I know, yes, that's a word, though I'm not sure it means what you think it does. 
In my Shine Cycle, the Vaynar, who are sort of like angels, were granted vast powers to use to shape the world in the first very few years after its ex nihilo creation to make it particularly fit for mortal habitation. And while the scope of this power dwindled over the following decades and centuries, it regenerated to some degree (less, fortunately, in the ones that fell). And there are various creatures (dragons, fairies, etc.) that naturally have their own powers. And any of these can lend his, her, or its power to a mortal mage (one with the aptitude to use "the other kind")---but for a mage to use power from such a source is nearly always forbidden.
Jakorosin Darksbane wrote: The second way you can do this is to keep God as the power source, but to limit what He permits the character to use, in addition to having the use thereof be dependent on His will. I think, however, this doesn't work very well (for Cobhaic powers, though prophetic related powers could work well under this system); because I view Cobhaic powers as gifts like any others, to be used or misused according to free will.
In my Shine Cycle, the one form of "applied metaphysics" that is permitted by the divine Law is the use of power that God gives. Mages find that the amount of power that they can handle at any given time is more or less in proportion to how closely they're "walking with God." In one place in one main character's backstory, she feels the Holy Spirit telling her that she was supposed to do something, and turns off her inner ear so she doesn't hear that voice any longer, and can't do the simplest working for months.
In response to the original question, however:
Lady Abigail Mimetes wrote: but if her energy source is God, then her power never dimishes and she is unbeatable
If we look at the Bible, there are several stories where power of one sort or another came from God and yet was taken away: Samson after he broke every one of the conditions laid on his life, Joshua's army when Achan sinned, Peter walking on the water ...
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