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

I read this in Ephesians this morning and those words seemed to leap from the page and catch hold of my heart! 

Immeasurably. More. Let’s unpack those two little words for a moment:

*Immeasurably: God’s power is impossible to measure or gauge. We can’t even begin to imagine the hugeness, the absoluteness of His power. We are limited to and by our ways of thinking. This is why The Lord tells us in  Isaiah 55:8–9 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” 

And if you belong to Jesus, that same power lives in you, in the person of the Holy Spirit. 

*More: God always answers prayer. He hears even the softest sighs of your heart. (“You know what I long for, Lord; you hear my every sigh”. Psalm 38:9)

But often His answers are not what we were expecting- they’re far, far better! 

For example, look at the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth. Luke 1:5–17 To be childless in that culture at that time was seen as a shameful thing. Picture that, added to the normal ache felt any by heart that has longed for a baby. 

Your Prayer Has Been Heard
An angel appeared to Zechariah and told him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John”

The angel had said “God has heard your prayer”. That really struck me; going by Zechariah’s reaction to the angel’s message, I get the feeling Zechariah hadn’t really been expecting an answer anymore. I don’t think it’s likely that he had recently prayed about this, as Elizabeth was now well beyond child bearing age so to have a child at her age was seemingly impossible. So what prayer was the angel referring to?

The angel must have been talking about their prayers as a young married couple, years before, when Elizabeth was still of childbearing age. If Zechariah had been praying about this in recent months or weeks his reaction to the angel’s message would have been totally different. 

God hears and remembers every one of your prayers, for days, weeks, months, years, and even for generations! 

He will never forget or overlook your prayers. Sometimes (more often than not) His response isn’t what we were thought it would be. It’s even better! 

Zechariah and Elizabeth had their longed for child. John grew up to be the the one who would announce the arrival of the Jesus, the Messiah. 

Trust Him, whatever it is you are asking Him for, whatever He has promised you, He is able to do immeasurably more than you can ask or imagine! He has heard your prayers. 

Jill 💜

PS: below is a necklace from my shop, Miss Maisie’s Wee Shop. For more details of the necklace, just click the highlighted font under the photo, which will take you through to the shop.