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19th May 2025
MondayReflection
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Greg Morse
Teacher, Desiring God
'Outpray God's Goodness'
Ephesians 3:20
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I wish I could always address God in prayer as Paul did:
"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think . . ."
.... Ephesians 3:20
Faith taught Paul to begin this way.
Paul does not merely address a hearing God, but an answering God.
My heart, on weaker days, struggles to lift its voice to such a God.
It has questions.
When I try to take the text seriously, doubts interrupt:
If he is the one who can answer this way, why hasn't he?
Little doubts like these can sting the heart to death, leaving behind prayers far less triumphant.
When Christ was on earth, a leper knelt before him, saying,
"Lord, if you will, you can make me clean."
You've prayed that way before. You know he can if he really wants to.
But does he want to?
Christ's answer to that leper seems different from his answer to you:
"I will; be clean" (Matthew 8:2-3)
With unanswered prayers gnawing at our heart, why can we trust that he will answer us above and beyond what we can ever ask or think?
Because he already has.
This appears the only just conclusion when we consider all the evidence already given in Ephesians.
Paul presents us as formerly dead in trespasses and sins, following the course of this age, full of disobedience and children of wrath.
When we didn't think to pray or repent, he made us alive together with Christ.
Our passage in full:
To him who by means of his power working in us is able to do so much more than we can ever ask for, or even think of: to God be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever! Amen.
.... Ephesians 3:20-21
To consider God's power already at work within Christians is to attempt to wrap our arms around the base of a mountain.
Paul prayed for supernatural wisdom and revelation to begin to know
"what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe"
Ephesians 1:19.
You never, of yourself, thought to ask for forgiveness, yet he answered.
You never conceived of eternal life, yet he secured it anyway.
You never knew the horror of that word hell,
the glory of that word grace, the wonder of that word gospel, the life in that name Jesus, yet while the twisted prayer of your dead heart was for more of this world, sin, and rebellion, he answered you with heaven, his Spirit, his Son, and himself.
May we not sail any more prayers on the leaky vessel and rough waves of doubt.
Let Spurgeon confront us:
If you believe in prayer at all, expect God to hear you.
If you do not expect, you will not have.
God will not hear you unless you believe He will hear you;
but if you believe He will, He will be as good as your faith.
When you pray, hear Jesus ask you,
"Do you believe I can do this?"
Try to ask and think higher than he can answer and see how he meets your confidence in him with unexpected blessing that bows you in humble worship and lifts your voice to call out to others:
"Now to him who answers above and beyond what we can ever think to ask . . ."
><(((°>
Bible references available on request
Greg Morse
is a staff writer for Desiring God, where he writes, edits, and helps oversee 'Look at the Book'.
He is the author of hundreds of articles on topics such as biblical manhood, the new birth, and the worth of Christ.
Greg came to faith as a college freshman while reading the Bible.
A growing hunger for God's word led him into campus ministry and eventually to Bethlehem College and Seminary, where he graduated in 2017.
That same year, he joined the Desiring God staff and became engaged to Abigail, who was then serving as a missionary in Dubai.
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