The Power Within

Ephesians 3:14-21

All glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. (Ephesians 3:20)

WHEN PAUL TELLS US THAT God is able to do beyond what we can ask or imagine, we might begin to wonder, Have I asked too little of him? Are my prayers too small? After all, I can imagine a lot. If our minds can conceive of great things and God’s ability exceeds them all, then the sky’s the limit. Actually, there is no limit. Not even the sky.

Our next questions bring us down to earth. I know God can do anything, but will he? Does he want to answer my prayers? He has given us plenty of promises, assuring us that he is the kind of God who answers. And our own experiences remind us that he does, often in remarkable ways. But those requests for the deep desires of our hearts may still lie on the table. We don’t know whether to hold out hope for them. We know God is exceedingly able, and he is exceedingly good, but is he exceedingly able and good on our behalf?

He is, of course, and he pledges not only to shape the desires of our hearts but to fulfill them too. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians addresses how we are rooted in Christ’s love, how Christ is rooted in our hearts, and how fully we are meant to experience the heights and depths of that relationship. So when Paul praises God’s surpassing abilities, he has a certain focus in mind: God is able to transform his people and the world through his incomprehensible love according to the power at work within us. There may be times when he works independently of his people, but God’s normal modus operandi is to work through us. While we look for him to demonstrate his exceeding power out in the world, he is looking to demonstrate it in and through those who have experienced his love. Our former futility has been replaced with resurrection power—and the promise of answers to really big prayers.

{Father, what big prayers do you want to answer through me? What kind of power do you want to demonstrate in me? You are able; I am willing. Demonstrate your love in amazing ways. Amen.