Immeasurably More

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. - Ephesians 3:20 (NIV)

You know when you hear or say something too much and the word loses its meaning? Sometimes I find scripture can be a bit like that. Recently, I’d found myself talking a lot about expectation, and I always come back to the above verse in Ephesians (which is part of the benediction so now I hear it in an American accent – thanks Patrick) and, for me, “immeasurably more” had lost some of its meaning. The phrase had just become words on the page, until something really cool happened in Elevate (Sunday morning youth session).
We’ve been exploring the spiritual gifts and the youth have been stepping out in faith to experiment with them. A couple of weeks ago I was talking to them about healing and was kind of walking them through the 5-step healing model, using Kane and his bad knee as an example. I wasn’t praying, and they weren’t praying, I was just explaining what we would do if we were praying for healing. I said that, after we pray for a time, we ask the person to check if there’s been any change. Kane got up and walked around and told us that he was at a 3 on the 1-10 pain scale. Guys, he’d been at a 6 when we started. I wish you could have seen my face! We started actually praying this time and Kane got down to a 1.
I really underestimated God that day. It wasn’t unbelief; it’s not that I thought God couldn’t move, I just wasn’t expecting Him to because we didn’t ask! So if God can do that without me asking, imagine what He’d do when we come to Him with expectation! He can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. The Message version tells us:

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, His Spirit deeply and gently within us.

When you come to church on Sunday, what are you imagining or guessing or requesting or wildly dreaming God will do? Ask Him, He can do it and more.