Prayer for Exceedingly Abundantly Above

Do you need God to do exceedingly abundantly ABOVE all you could ask or think? Ephesians 3:20 tells us that He is able to do just that! If you desire for Him to move on your behalf and work exceedingly abundantly above for you, read on for an encouraging word and sample prayer!

First, let’s look at our key Scripture: Ephesians 3:20-21.

Ephesians 3:20-21 says:

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21 NKJV).

This verse tells us that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly ABOVE all we could ask or think. And God’s Word tells us that because God wants us to have faith for Him to do just that.

What would “exceedingly abundantly above” look like in your life?

How do you need God to move for you right now? For example:

Do you need His help in your job or workplace?

Do you need Him to take a tough job and make it easy, or make a hostile environment friendly and loving? Do you even need Him to give you a whole different job or promotion? He can do all those things–and He can do ABOVE all you ask or think!

Do you need God to restore or repair your hurting marriage?

Do you need Him to convict and change your spouse (and even you)? God can do that! No marriage is too far gone for Him to restore.

(Although sometimes, if you are not Biblically bound to the marriage, you may choose to pursue His restoration outside of that particular marriage … and if so, God is still ABLE to do exceedingly abundantly above all you could ask or think in that capacity, too!)

Do you need God to help you and increase you financially?

If so, He is ready, willing, and able to do so! For example:

• He can help you learn to tithe and offer to Him, so that your finances are sanctified, blessed, and redeemed into HIS economy of blessing, rather than the world’s sinful economy that brings only the curse.
• He can help you learn to budget, being diligent to know the “state of your flocks” and attending to your “herds”–your assets. He can help you know what money is coming in and going out, squeezing every last penny and wasting nothing!
• He can help you start your own business–and see it grow exponentially, more than you ever dreamed!
• He can increase your pay at your current job, or give you a new and better job that pays more!
• He can cause the value of your investments to rise! He can give you favor in all your investments and assets!

The list goes on and on. My friend, God is ABLE to do exceedingly abundantly ABOVE alllllll you could ever ask, hope, or think.

But His promise does carry one condition, and that condition is often ignored.

Let’s look at Ephesians 3:20-21 again:

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21 NKJV).

Have you ever noticed that little phrase, “according to the power that works in us”?

To be transparent, I had never paid that phrase a single bit of attention until just a few months ago. Yes, I knew the Scripture. I knew it well. But I had always focuses on the “exceedingly abundantly above” part, and after that I had focused on the “to Him be glory in the church” part.

But I never gave any attention at all to the “according to the power that works in us” part.

Oops.

Because when Holy Spirit brought that phrase to my attention a few months ago, I realized that this promise is conditional. And the condition to how much God can do exceedingly abundantly above for each of us is all based on how much of His power is at work in us.

That means …

• If you have a little power working in you, God can a little bit of exceedingly abundantly above for you.
• But if you have a LOT of power working in you, He can do a LOT of exceedingly abundantly above.

So that brings us to the question …

How much power do you have working in you?

Do you have a lot of His power working in you, or only a little?

A word of caution before you answer that: lest you be conceited, let’s look at some generic questions about who has more power.

Here’s what we should consider:

• Who has more of Christ’s power working within them: a person who gets up early to seek God for an hour every day, or a person who can’t be bothered to do that (but they still pray 10 minutes in their car on the way to work)?
• Who has more power working in them: the person who develops a disciplined lifestyle of fasting and prayer, or the person who has no interest in fasting and prayer at all?
• Who has more power working in them: the person who chooses to walk in sexual sin, lusting or fornicating or looking at pornography–or the person who chooses to live a holy life, waiting until marriage for sexual activity, and keeping their eye-gate pure?
• Who has more power working in them: the person who cusses and curses, or the person who has decided to keep their tongue from evil and only speak words that impart grace to the hearers?
• Who has more power working in them: the person who strongly dislikes their enemies, or the person who loves their enemies?
• And who has more of God’s power working in them: the person who consistently tithes 10% of their gross income to the Lord, trusting Him to make up the difference even when numbers don’t make sense … OR the person who rarely or never gives to the Lord “because they don’t have enough to give”?

Friend, every person has a different amount of God’s power working in them.

Just because Jesus lives inside us doesn’t mean we are completely surrendered to Him. You are a pipeline for His power if you have given your life to Him. His Holy Spirit dwells within you. But if you’re resisting Him all the time …

If you put up hindrances and obstacles in the way of His mighty power at work in you …

Then you might only have a little bit of His power doing His work in you.

But, if you are truly surrendered to the Lord, obeying Him in all things even despite great personal cost …

… then you are going to have a LOT of His power working in you. Why? Because:

• You are quick to obey Him when He speaks to you–or even when you see some command in His Word that you aren’t doing yet.
• You are a doer of the Word, not a hearer only who deceives himself.
• You aren’t getting in His way with your fleshly tendencies.
• You are focusing wholly and completely on Him, not letting the world, the flesh, or the devil hinder what He wants to do in your life.
• You are seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and ALL His good things will be added to you when you do.

My friend, your complete surrender allows God to do everything He wants to do in your life. And God can only do “exceedingly abundantly above” all you could ask or think for you to the same degree as His power is at work in your life.

So I ask you today:

Are you getting in God’s way?

Are you bowing to Him and doing whatever He says? Or are you letting the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life hinder His mighty work in your life?

And if you are not bowing to Him in absolutely everything, are you ready to do that today?

Pray this prayer today if you are ready to fully surrender to God. As you pray, ask God to do exceedingly abundantly ABOVE on your behalf:

“Dear Heavenly Father, I come to You in Jesus’ name.

Father God, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to die for me on the cross. Please forgive me for my sin and compromise. Please wash me clean with the blood of Jesus.

I confess my sins to you, and I repent for them. Please forgive me and fill me with Your Holy Spirit where those things were. Be my Lord and Savior for real, Jesus. I give you everything I am and everything I have. You can have all of me, and I receive all of You by grace through faith. Thank You. Thank You for saving me.

Abba Father, I want Your power to work in me without hindrance and without measure.

As I have given You all of myself, I ask You to please do what it takes in my life to have Your full way and will with me. I surrender everything to You that has been resisting You and Your power at work in me. Please utterly destroy every resistor in me–everything that would get in Your way.

Abba Father, please help me to seek first Your Kingdom and Your righteousness, so that all these things can be added to me. Please give me the desire to seek You and obey You with all my heart. And as I seek You, please help me to find You and get to know You more than I ever have before.

As Your power flows through me unhindered, Father, please do for me those things that are exceedingly abundantly ABOVE all I could ask or think:

• Bless me and prosper me beyond what I ever could have dreamed of.
• Help me to walk in holiness, purity, and power, more than I ever knew was even possible.
• Fill me with Your power and glory, Lord. Let me be a carrier of Your glory and of Your heart.
• Use me for the sake of Your Kingdom. Use me to minister to others and to walk in the gifts and ministry You have placed inside me.
• Bring me into the fullness of my destiny in you, God. Help me to walk in ALL the good plans You have for me: plans to prosper me and not to harm me, to give me hope and a future.
• Do for me all those things that eye has not seen, nor ear heard, that have not entered into the heart of man–but which You have revealed to me by Your Spirit.
• Please do exceedingly abundantly ABOVE in every area of my life–and do it often, I pray in Jesus’ name!

And while You work in me, please keep me on a short leash, Lord Jesus:

• Keep me from sinning against You in any way whatever.
• Keep me on Your straight and narrow path.
• Convict me immediately if I stray from Your perfect will in any area.
• Don’t let me get in Your way, or in the way of your pure and unbridled power at work in my life!

Abba Father, I desire that You would be glorified in my life. Thank You for drawing me to Jesus. Thank You for helping me surrender everything to Him, and to You and Holy Spirit, today.

Please glorify Your own name in me, and let Your power flow through me like a mighty river. And as You do, I know that You will do exceedingly abundantly above all I could ever dare to ask, hope, or think.

Thank You, Father. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.”

Friend, do you want God to do exceedingly abundantly above all you could ask or think?

If so, are you letting His power flow through you unhindered so that He can? And if you haven’t been, did you fully surrender to Him today? Leave a comment below!