Yesterday during some corporate prayer at our church, I was praying about God's future plans and paraphrased some verses from Ephesians about God doing more than we can think or imagine. I said, "I can imagine a lot, Lord"! Afterwards, I felt like the Lord whispered back a bit of a reply, "yes, but you don't think like I do, so everything you imagine is from man's perspective not mine!"
To put this in context, here are the verses from Paul's letter to the Ephesians 3:14-21 NIV:
[14] "For this reason I kneel before the Father, [15] from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. [16] I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, [17] so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, [18] may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, [19] and to know this love that surpasses knowledge---that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
[20] 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, [21] to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."
I must say His word, while gentle, caught my attention, and I knew it was an invitation to begin pressing further into Him, that I might grow and learn to see things from His perspective, learning to think more like Him. Recently, I was listening to John Wimber, one of the founders of the Vineyard Churches, giving his testimony about how the Lord moved in his life, and spoke something similar. He was desperate to see God move and was crying out to the Lord and heard the Lord say something that changed everything. The Lord said to him, "John I have seen your ministry, now I am going to show you mine!"
Up until that point John had been doing all the church things he knew to grow and establish the church, he was obeying the leading of the Lord, teaching from the Word, praying for healing, everything he could do from his own knowledge and experience, but it just wasn't enough, and John knew there had to be more.
These verses from Paul's letter, help me to understand that there is so much more, things beyond which I can even think.... for I haven't been able to grasp the fullness of God's love for me, the lost, the poor and downtrodden, the lonely, the weak, etc. I am aware of how limited my thinking really is, and how so much of my thinking is based on what I have read, what I have heard others teach! I am limited and I know it... and I feel like the invitation is to press pass my own understanding into new things that He speaks and does!
Oh Lord, help me! Oh Lord, help us to not settle for that which we can do, or think on our own! Help us to press further into You to discover what You purpose to do! Help us to lay down our understanding and frameworks and allow You to speak new things into existence! Show us Your ministry! Show us Your Love! Fill us with the whole measure of the fullness of You!
Amen and Amen!
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