More Than We Can Imagine

August 3, 2016

Read: Ephesians 3:14-21
Bible in a Year: Psalms 63-65; Romans 6

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

What are the five best toys of all time? Jonathan H. Liu suggested the following: A stick, a box, string, a cardboard tube, and dirt (GeekDad column at wired.com). All are readily available, versatile, appropriate for all ages, fit every budget, and are powered by imagination. No batteries required.

Imagination plays a powerful role in our lives, so it’s not unusual that the apostle Paul mentioned it in his prayer for the followers of Jesus in Ephesus (Eph. 3:14-21). After asking God to strengthen them with His power through His Spirit (v. 16), Paul prayed that they would be able to grasp and experience the full dimension of the love of Christ (vv. 17-19). In closing, Paul gave glory 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” (v. 20).

Often our experience limits our prayers—a situation we can’t picture being different; destructive habits that remain unbroken; long-held attitudes that seem to defy change. As time passes, we may begin to feel that some things cannot be changed. But Paul says that is not true.

By God’s mighty power working in us, He is able to do far more than we may dare to ask or even dream of. —David McCasland

Dear Father, help us today to embrace all that You have given us in Your Son—forgiveness, hope, encouragement, and power to live a new life.

Never measure God’s unlimited power by your limited expectations.

INSIGHT: Paul knew intimately and intensely the power of God to do things that could not be imagined. His own conversion from persecutor of the church to follower of Christ was a perfect example of the power of God (see Acts 9). In his letter to the young pastor Timothy (the pastor of the church in Ephesus), Paul refers to the power of God in the improbability of his conversion. It is only by the power and grace of God that “a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man” (1 Tim. 1:13) could be transformed into a man who, when in prison and facing capital punishment could say “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). J.R. Hudberg

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