by Dee Ann Loving-Tackitt
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 3:20–21
Offer Prayers That Match the Size of Your God
Pastor Burden (Dr. Jason) at First Baptist Lubbock recently said, “Offer prayers that are proportionate to the size of your God.” Those words settled deep in my spirit. In fact, the Holy Spirit just wouldn’t leave me alone about it. I felt convicted. Do I really understand how big God is?
I have learned—maybe because of my age, or maybe because of my deepened relationship with Jesus—that when I do not know an answer, I immediately go in prayer and to His Word. This is what I found in the Bible:
God’s Greatness Is Beyond Measure
God’s magnitude transcends human comprehension entirely. God is great with abundant power, and his understanding extends beyond measure. (Ps 147:5) Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain God—how much less a human-built structure. (1 Kings 8:27) This isn’t merely poetic language; it describes God’s fundamental nature.
God Is Everywhere Yet Uncontained
God fills heaven and earth, (Jer 23:24) yet this omnipresence doesn’t confine him to space. Whether one ascends to heaven or descends to Sheol, whether one travels to the uttermost parts of the sea, God is present there. (Ps 139:7–12) The paradox is essential: God operates within creation while remaining entirely unconditioned by spatial or temporal limits.
God’s Wisdom Is Unsearchable
God is the everlasting Creator of the earth’s ends, never fainting or growing weary, with understanding that cannot be searched out. (Isa 40:28) God’s depths cannot be discovered, his limits cannot be found—his measure exceeds heaven, Sheol, earth, and sea. (Job 11:7–9) The riches, wisdom, and knowledge of God are unfathomable; his judgments and ways are inscrutable. (Rom 11:33)
God Is Greater Than Our Understanding
This immensity creates a profound tension: God’s thoughts and ways are as far above human thoughts and ways as the heavens exceed the earth. (Isa 55:8–9) God measures waters in his hand, marks the heavens with a span, and treats nations as drops from a bucket and dust on scales. (Isa 40:12–15) God is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think. (Eph 3:20–21)
God Is Infinite—Beyond All Limits
The theological tradition captures this through the concept of infinity: God’s being and activity are in no way bound by limitations of time and space. The question of God’s location is not applicable—he brought space and time into being and existed before space was created. God’s size, ultimately, cannot be measured because measurement itself is a finite concept applied to an infinite reality.
In conclusion, Pastor Burden’s words have become both a challenge and an invitation: if God is truly immeasurable, then my prayers should no longer be limited by fear, doubt, or small expectations. My response is to pray with greater faith, greater boldness, and greater trust—believing that the God who is able to do immeasurably more is still working within us.
References
Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1953), 441.
Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 243.
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