Ephesians 3:20

"God is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us." (Ephesians 3:20)

God is not just able to do beyond what we ask, but  abundantly beyond.  But that is no enough.  He is able to do far more abundantly beyond what we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.

 

I want to encourage you to pray in faith, asking God to do far beyond all that we can ask or think.

From Genesis to Revelation, we see God’s mighty power at work.  We can summarize it under four headings:

 

(1) God’s power is seen in creation.

God spoke the entire universe into existence out of nothing by His word alone! In Romans 1:20, Paul writes, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” The psalmist exclaimed (Ps. 33:6, 9), “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host…. For He

spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Or, as Jeremiah (32:17)  exaimed, “Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You.” Every day all
around us, we have evidence to remind us of God’s omnipotence.
(2) God’s power is seen in His judgments.

Throughout the Bible there are examples of God unleashing a small amount of His power to bring judgment on rebellious sinners. He brought the worldwide flood in Noah’s day. He confused the languages of the proud men at the tower of Babel. He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone. He unleashed the ten plagues on Egypt and then destroyed the Egyptian army in the sea. On numerous occasions, God destroyed thousands of people in a short time, through plagues or warfare or natural disasters (Num. 16:25-35, 46-49; 25:9; Judges 7:22; 2 Kings 19:35; 2 Chron. 20:22-23; Ps. 18:12-15).

(3) God’s power is seen in His converting sinners

The apostle Paul is exhibit A, of course. He was persecuting the church with vengeance, when God stopped him in his tracks and changed him into the man who would preach to the Gentiles, whom he formerly detested. In our text, Paul refers to “the power that works within us.” That takes us back to Ephesians 1:19, where Paul said that the same power that raised Christ from the dead (the greatest display of power in human history) is what raised us from

spiritual death to life. In Ephesians 3:7, Paul refers to the working  of God’s power that converted him and made him a minister of the gospel to the Gentiles. In 3:16, he referred to God’s power through His Spirit that strengthens us in the inner man.

(4) God’s power is seen in His working when we are unable to do anything 

Abraham and Sarah were physically beyond the ability to conceive children. Even when they were younger, Sarah had been unable to conceive. When Sarah laughed at the idea that she would conceive, the Lord confronted her with the rhetorical question (Gen. 18:14), “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?” In response to God’s promise, she did conceive Isaac. Later, when God asked Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, Abraham obeyed because (Heb. 11:19), “He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead….” Nothing is impossible for the Lord!

"Prayer provides power, poise, peace and purpose."