Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we
ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be
glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever
and ever! Amen. – Ephesians 3.20-21
I recently read of a story that reportedly
happened when a world-famous professional golfer was playing in Saudi Arabia.
Apparently, the Saudi king was so impressed with this man's playing that he
said to him, "I'd like to give you a
gift of appreciation." Now this renowned golfer told the king that no
gift was necessary; he just appreciated the opportunity to play in his country.
But the king was insistent, not only that the golfer receive a gift, but that
he could name any gift he wished.
Well, after just a brief moment to think
about it, he just said, "A golf
club." You see the golf pro collected golf clubs and thought maybe the
king would give him one that had some gold or maybe even a jewel in it. Well, a
few days later, a representative of the king came to the hotel where the golfer
was staying to present the king's gift – an object that was only about a foot
long, carried inside a leather pouch. Now, apparently this was going to be a
fairly small golf club. Then the golfer opened the pouch only to discover
inside a deed – a deed that made him the owner of a golf club, as in the
hundreds of acres that made up the beautiful golf club he had been given!
Now this famous golfer had one observation to
make after this overwhelming response to his request. He said, "In the presence of a great king, you
do not ask for small gifts!" How right he is!
Read these words from Scripture about the
King who made all the other kings! "This
is what the Lord says, He who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and
established it – the Lord is His name” – (Jeremiah 33.2-3) Those are our
King's awesome credentials. Now, based on who He is, God says, "Call to Me and I will answer you and
tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."
I'm reminded of a companion promise in the
New Testament, found in our key Scripture text, Ephesians 3.20-21. These two
verses, which are the conclusion of a prayer, identify our Lord as "Him who is able to do immeasurably
more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within
us." Now I hate to say it, but in light of the kind of King we have
and the kind of promises He's made to us, most of our prayers are pretty lame.
We come into the Throne Room from which the universe is governed with our
little "Dear God" ditties: "Dear God, thank You for this day,
thank You for Your many blessings, forgive us of our many sins, help us with
our many problems, and bless the missionaries, whoever they may be. Amen."
Our
praying is often just so predictable, so routine, and that is an insult to the
God who's invited us to come to Him for "no
small gifts." When's the last time you really believed God for some
things that are so big that only God could do them? Or have you been praying
you-centered “you-sized” prayers, man-sized prayers, earth-sized prayers? We’re
talking to the King of the universe – that’s way big (and He created it all
too, remember?!). So, why don’t we come to Almighty God offering King-sized (that’s
King of kings sized) prayers?!
Now, there is another matter here – are there ever occasions when we
feel as if you can impress the Lord with all you are trying to do for Him and
His church? Do we seriously believe that God has yet to be impressed with even
the most grandiose human aspiration or agenda?… “When I consider Your
heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have
ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You
visit him?” – (Psalms 8.3-4,NKJV)
We can never set a goal so big or attempt a task so significant
that God does not have something far greater that He could do in and through our
lives… He is able to do “superabundantly, far over and above all that
we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires,
thoughts, hopes, or dreams]”[1],
“infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope”[2],
“exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.”[3] Wow!
Furthermore, as the prayer continues, “according to His power that is at work within us!”
Let’s not rush
over that truth – “according to His power
that is at work within us” – what does this mean?
It
means God can do far greater things in and through us than we can do ourselves
– He promises! Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the
same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with
the Father” – (John 14.12, NLT)
So,
are our prayers man-sized or King-sized? Are we praying too small? Are we
thinking too small of God or maybe too big of ourselves? As Jeremiah prayed, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the
heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too
hard for you!” – (Jeremiah 32.17) Nothing, absolutely nothing, is
impossible with God. And that’s why Paul declares in his prayer that Almighty “God
can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or
request in your wildest dreams… by working within us, His Spirit deeply and
gently within us” – (Ephesians 3.21, MSG).
This prayer in Ephesians comes from the same man, Saul of Tarsus,
later transformed by Christ into apostle Paul, who earlier in his life had worked
harder than anyone else to impress God with his efforts, only to discover that
his greatest achievements were but rubbish compared to God's will for his life…
“If
anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised
the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of
the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting
the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But
what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet
indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of
Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and
count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ” – (Philippians
3.4b-8).
Our challenge is that we become too easily enamored with our own
plans. If we are attempting to do noble or difficult things, we assume that we
must be experiencing the maximum potential for our lives and that God must,
therefore, be pleased with us – and He will therefore bless our plans and our
efforts. Until we have received direction from God, we cannot even imagine all
that our lives could become and all that Almighty God could accomplish through
us…
“Lean
on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do
not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know,
recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and
plain your paths.” – Proverbs 3.5-6 (The Amplified Bible)
In his heart a man
plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps… Many are the plans in a
man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails. – Proverbs 16.9; 19.21
We need to remind ourselves that the Father sees the "big
picture," that His sovereign and infinite power far exceeds our
limited human abilities and imagination.
We must set aside our own agenda, however lofty. We must never
become satisfied with our own dreams, for they are finite at best. When we
follow God's direction we will witness things happening in our lives that can
only be explained by His powerful divine presence. How could we be satisfied
with anything less?
And so let’s not be guilty of really
underpraying and undertrusting! When you pray, take a little time to focus on
the awesomeness of the God Whose presence dwells in you by His Spirit – the
very One who controls 125 billion plus galaxies! Do you pray like that? Let
yourself be amazed, awed, overwhelmed...not by your own plans, problems or your
questions, but by the size of your Lord! Then pray in ways that are worthy of
the great God you're with!
The hymn writer had it right, "Thou art coming to a king, large
petitions with thee bring; for His grace and power are such, none could ever
ask too much!"[4]
Remember, when you pray, you are in the presence of the King of all kings.
Don't ask for small gifts!
In a nutshell – in Him,
Web Shepherd
[2] Holy
Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996 by Tyndale
Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.
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