SEARCHLIGHT
Is God able to do the things we pray for?
SCRIPTURE
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work with us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever, and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20,21 NIV
SPOTLIGHT
Do you believe God is able to supernaturally intervene? I will never forget Nipisha. She believed God is able to do the things we pray for.
Nipisha was a 14 year old Inuit girl who lived in Iqaluit, Canada, which is 1,200 miles due north of Montreal, Canada. There are no roads to her town. You either go by boat or plane.
I was a part of a team of university students who had gone to her town, which was then known as Frobisher Bay, to share the Good News for three months. Nipisha was one of the young people who became a believer. She decided to make Jesus Christ her Savior and Lord. Later she told me how she was out in a boat with her grandfather, either fishing or on a seal hunt. He complained he had a very serious pain but had not taken anything for it. Nipisha offered to pray and ask God to heal him. He didn’t speak but smiled approvingly. She prayed. Her grandfather was immediately healed.
When Nipisha told me this story, I asked her who had told her about praying to God for healing. She answered that nobody had. She had read about Jesus Christ healing the sick in the New Testament. Nipisha just assumed it was her privilege to pray this way. Unlike many people, she did not wonder about how powerful God really is or how willing God is to bestow his power.
When you choose to worship the only true living God, you are choosing to connect yourself to the God of inexhaustible resources and unlimited power. Today’s Scripture focus states how God is able to do far beyond anything you could ever ask or think. What a great assurance this gives to any believer while living in a very uncertain world. What you find here in this promise is the expectancy of God showing up in your everyday life. In turn, this expectation gives you great confidence for the future.
The Apostle Paul is concluding a prayer with this powerful doxology. In response to the question “How powerful is God?”, the Apostle drives home his point by using every word possible to convey the vastness of God’s power. Please note that he says it in five ways:
#1 God is able to do what we “ask” Him to do.
#2 God is able to do “all we ask.”
#3 God is able to do what we “imagine” but may not have asked for.
#4 God is able to do “more than all we ask or imagine.”
#5 God is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.”
Can you recall seeing two men boxing? In our Scripture focus, Paul so convincingly makes his case about God’s ability/power that anyone reading it almost feels like the boxer who has been cornered by his opponent. The opponent laces him with a right, left, right, left, etc. How could the boxer in the corner not be convinced of the power of his opponent. So, it should be with all Christians. We should be so overwhelmed with what the Bible says about God’s power that we forever consider that question answered. It never needs to be brought up again. There should be no doubt. God is able! God always has been able! God always will be able!
Be like Nipisha! Believe that God is able and willing to do great things. Pray like she did, asking God to supernaturally intervene. Watch what happens.
SOMETHING TO DO
Pray and ponder about this Scripture verse. Answer the following questions:
#1 What do you need to ask God to do in your life?
#2 What is something you have asked God to do, but you really wonder how much He will
answer?
#3 What is something you have imagined would be nice for God to do, but you have not dared
to ask Him?
#4 What is something you need to ask God for but your human reasoning and understanding
hold you back?
#5 What holds you back from believing that God has infinitely more power than you could
ever comprehend?
SOUL TIME PRAYER
Heavenly Father, I believe You are Almighty God, who is able to do far beyond anything I could ever ask or imagine. So, I come to You right now, asking that You would supernaturally intervene by….{specifically identify your request} …..And I pray that all would be done for Your honor and glory. In the name Your Son, Jesus Christ, I pray, AMEN!