Day 21—Now to Him who is able…

“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, NIV84)

Well, we made it!  21 Days of Prayer!! Thank you, Lord, for all the answers to prayer that you are bringing! Than you for the revival in our hearts, and the Revive All in our lives.

The passage above is actually the conclusion of Paul’s prayer that we looked at in yesterday’s devotion. If you read the whole chapter you’ll get a sense of how pumped up Paul is. His intensity builds and builds until he bursts out in praise—“to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen!!!”

Let’s unpack this verse:

“God is able.” That means there is nothing he can’t do. He’s omnipotent, omniscient, omni-present, eternal, immutable, sovereign, immanent and transcendent! (If you want to feel something good, take that last sentence and practice saying it loud and fast as a boastful praise to God. Say it out loud over and over like you’re shouting it into the heavens. You’ll feel something, I promise!)

“More than we can ask.” He didn’t say “more than we have asked.” He’s saying more than we even have the ability to ask. And that’s because God is able and willing to do things that we can’t even imagine! And if you can’t imagine it, you’re not going to ask for it.

Think of some wonderful things that you’d love to see but It’s hard to imagine. Like a Holy Spirit outpouring among politicians in Washington. Think of a child with severe cerebral palsy being completely healed. Imagine the meanest, most godless person in your family or at your job—imagine them being gloriously saved. Imagine a band of ISIS terrorists proclaiming Jesus the Lord of their lives. Imagine the corona virus disappearing from the face of the earth. We could imagine all day, and God says that, try as we may, we’ll fall short of what he’s able to do. 

“According to the power that is at work within us.”  Here we are tempted to place a limiter on the promise, thinking it says something that it doesn’t say. We think its saying, “according to the AMOUNT of power that is at work within you.” But it doesn’t say that. It say, “according to that power that IS at work in you.” The Holy Spirit IS within you!

Whatever your need is, God is more than able!!

“To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”