Immeasurably more
“Now glory be to God who by His mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we could ever dare to ask or dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes.”
Have you ever heard the term prayer warrior? I’ve always wondered if these are people who pray often or pray for long periods at one time, or maybe both? I would imagine that prayer warriors pray strong prayers: prayers rich in the Word of God and full of faith. It seems as though these people have something special about them, a special connection to God, a special anointing on their life. And maybe to some degree they do, but what I really think, is that these prayers warriors have just had the revelation that prayers can change everything and that we serve a mighty God who is capable of anything. We have all been equipped with prayer as a weapon and can yield it like the most agile warrior.
In the past few years I feel as if God has been challenging my prayer life, particularly what I ask and believe God for. And as I examined my prayer life, I found that I was limiting my prayers to things I thought were possible. I wondered “Am I just asking God for things that are possible because it seems to validate my faith, but in reality negates it?” It doesn’t take faith to ask God for something you know is possible. I found myself challenged as to what I believe God is capable of doing. I realized that by keeping my prayers small, “safe,” and within the capacity of my finite imagination, I am limiting a limitless God.
Ephesians 3:20 is a powerful reminder to us as Christians about our faith and prayer life. It was this verse, that when I slowed down, and really read and meditated on it, God challenged my faith. If you start earlier in the passage, at verse 14, Paul writes a prayer for the Ephesians:
When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
I don’t know about you, but my prayers are not that rich nor that profound. Really look at what Paul is asking God to do. He is asking God that somehow they (the Ephesians), as humans with limited capacity, will be able to understand and experience the fullness of God’s love. He is believing that they will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. When we remember that we are talking about real people, broken, who stumble, this is a man believing for the miraculous and the eternal in his fellow brothers in Christ.
And Paul ends that prayers with verse 20:
Now glory be to God who by His mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we could ever dare to ask or dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes.
Now glory be to God...
I love how Paul starts by praising God. His faith is activated right from the beginning, which is where it belongs. Faith is believing in the unseen and acting as though it is. His declaration of praise in advance is proof of his belief in what he cannot see.
to God who by His mighty power...
Paul puts the focus right on God. Not only is he giving God the credit, he is acknowledging that it is God’s mighty power that accomplishes His will. We have little to do with it. It is not a question of what we are asking for, but a matter of who we are asking. God created the universe and all that is within it. God knit you in your mother’s womb. God heals, provides, strengthens, brings justice. There is nothing too great or too small that God cannot handle. You can believe for anything and everything because God is capable of anything.
...who by His mighty power at work within us...
While God doesn’t need us to do any miracles, He wants us to be a part of the process. He wants us to engage with Him, to come to Him. He wants us to ask Him to do big things. He wants us to step out in faith. He wants an opportunity to show you Himself. When we take a step of faith and believe God, it creates a deeper trust and intimacy with our maker. God uses our faith to refine and to strengthen us. The ultimate miracle is the work He does in us. It is for our benefit that we ask Him in prayer.
..is able to do far more...
Paul tells us that God is able to do far more than we think. Other translations says far more abundantly, above and beyond, immeasurably more. God is lavish in His love and always exceeds our expectations. Which begs the question, what are you expecting? I am reminded of the story in the Bible of the woman who had no money to pay a debt. All she had was one jar of oil. Elisha told her to gather all the jars she could find. The oil flowed until each and every jar was full. She had enough to to sell to pay her debt, but moreover, there was extra that provided money to live on the rest of her life. God does not do the bare minimum for us. I don’t know what she was expecting, or believing for, but imagine had she only collected a few jars. I want to be like her and collect as many jars and believe God will fill them all.
...than we could ever dare to ask or dream...
The word dare stood out to me here. A dare has risk involved. A dare is not entirely safe. A dare takes us out of our comfort zone. A dare is not a sure thing. It takes faith. In the natural, some of the things we dream for are laughable. Cynics would scoff at our hopes. And yet, buried somewhere in our hearts, are deep longings that only God would be able bring about. If you are like me, maybe you don’t bother mentioning them to God because it seems a little too out there, so you modify your prayer to something more reasonable. If you are like me, you don’t want to bring them before God because you don’t want to get your hopes up. These longings and hopes are too precious to you that you are scared of what will happen if they don’t get answered. To truly believe for them would mean allowing a certain vulnerability with God. I think this is why Paul uses the word dare.
...infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes.
But what I think Paul is reminding believers is that with God, we can dare to believe. He is confident that God will not fail us when we take a step of faith. In fact, God goes beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, and hopes. God wants us to come before Him and not be afraid to ask Him for anything and everything. God wants to show us that He is not limited and He wants our faith to be unlimited.
What do you dare to ask God? What is that secret desire that is buried in you that you are even too scared to think the full thought, let alone aloud in prayer? What are things that you dismiss because they seem too crazy, too out there, too impossible to actually become a reality?
But, what things will you be saying “glory to God” about if you dared to ask?
