Ephesians 3:20
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work in us…”
This verse is the first half of a doxology or blessing address to God. It is also full of power words - “ is able to” is literally “ has power to”, “ power at work in us,” even the word work is the source of our word energy .
God is powerful and energetic. He is working constantly right through creation to achieve his purposes. We should understand this, but sometimes we forget. The God who spoke the universe into being where is a word, who sustains and holds together all things, as power in the creation - limitless or infinite power.
God has power to do immeasurably more because his power is inexhaustible. He has he measurable power, limitless ability, infinite energy.
God is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. This is an invitation to bold prayer.
God is able to heal any human ailment. He can stop a coronavirus dead in its tracks. He can send a fish for a recalcitrant prophet, still a storm, expel demons.
whatever impossible situations we can imagine, God has the answer for it.
God is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. It is not just our asking that limits our prayer, but our imagining.
when we are ill, it is easy to focus on the problem, centre on the diagnosis and on medical advice. God calls us instead to focus on Him and on his solution. Can we imagine an alternative reality in which God’s power flows and restores us? Even that is a slight fraction of God’s power to intervene for us.
If we are in a mental, emotional, relational, even a physical, prison with no means of escape, we must understand that God is able. He freed Peter, Paul and Silas. He is the God who provides the way.
it is good to use imagination to shape our vision and shape our prayers. God can do much more than we can imagine or ask for.
all of this is according to the power that is working in us. That power is the Holy Spirit who teaches us how to pray, how to speak, and to act.
it is important that we understand that our prayers need to be in accordance with the Holy Spirit. Our prayers need to be led by the Spirit, prayed through the Spirit.
selfish prayers, sometimes called soulish prayers, originate from our desires and our perception of what God should be doing. These prayers are not in that category of “more than we can ask or imagine,” because it is our asking and our imagination, and God wants to go beyond that.
we must let the Holy Spirit direct our prayers. We need to engage in listening prayer, that is, stopping to discover what God’s will is before we pray. Having done that's, we can step out in bold and confident faith, knowing that the Lord will prevail.
the dynamics of the “power that is at work in us” are at many levels. In prayer we listen and pray in power. The Spirit of God works His power in our spirit to trigger faith and confidence to see God’s will released into a situation.
in another way, this power is working energetically everyday transforming us from being independent to being dependent on God. Our character is moulded to be that of Christ. Our ability to discern the spirit realm grows so we can see what is happening in the heavenly places. Our faith grows to claim the big promises of God and apply them to our own situation.
all of this happens to bring us up to the fullness of the stature of Christ. All of this makes us bold warriors in the spiritual warfare we are called to participate in.
of course as we see in the next verse, the purpose is to glorify God.
key points in this verse:
- God’s power is limitless
- God can do more than we can ask or imagine
- God is working in us to grow faithful bold prayers and bold action
- God is raising us to be strong warriors in the spiritual warfare, that is, the clash between God and satan.