God Has No Limits

Ephesians 3:20 says, "Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think."

We serve a God who has no limits.  Think about that for a moment. No limits!!!

I read a little story once about a boy who was out fishing.  He was standing right on the very edge of the river, casting out his fishing line. An older gentleman was a short distance away watching. All of a sudden, the little boy felt a tug on his line, he pulled and released, pulled and released and out of the water came a 12-inch long bass.  The older gentleman quickly ran over to the little boy to share in his excitement only to find the little boy unhooking the fish and throwing it back into the river.  The older man, wide-eyed said, "What are you doing? You just caught a whopper. Why on earth did you throw it back in the river?" The little boy looked up at the older man and said, "My frying pan is only 9 inches wide."

Sometimes, I think we are like that little boy. God is trying to bless us, He is trying to provide us with God-sized opportunities, but our minds only see a 9-inch frying pan.  This is where faith and obedience come in. God wants us to use the power we have in Him to rise above that kind of limited thinking.

I firmly believe if God has placed something on your heart to do, He will make a way for you to do it. Whatever it is may seem unlikely, or it may seem outlandish, and we can easily come up with dozens of reasons not to pursue it. But if God placed that desire/idea/dream /opportunity on your heart - who are we to say "Oh no, that can't happen!"  You know who put those words in your head - the one who wants to thwart God's work. WARNING, WARNING, WARNING!!!  Don't believe it!!

God has placed inside of you great potential. He has big plans for you. Jeremiah 29: 11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Those plans came with all you need to accomplish them.  I love this quote from Erma Bombeck, "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and that I could say, "I used everything you gave me."  When we use what God has blessed us with for His glory, to further His kingdom, somehow it just exponentially increases. I have seen it happen. For example, at our church, we have a staff team of just 5 very committed, very gifted ladies on our Children's Ministry Team. They love the Lord and serve with a full heart for God and kids.  Sunday after Sunday, week after week their whole focus is on making sure kids have a good time learning about Jesus. And they do.  Many, many children have come to know Jesus as Savior through their efforts and the use of their God-given talents.  And each week we see more and more children coming to the church. That is our increase. You see, God does not want us to sit on the sidelines. He wants us in the game.

One time, Jesus invited His disciples into the game. Jesus appeared to his disciples near the Sea of Tiberias. 7 of the disciples went out to fish. That night they caught nothing. Nada! No fish for you! When they came back in the morning, Jesus was on the shore and called out to them but they didn't know it was Jesus. Jesus asked, " Friends, haven't you any fish?" And of course, the answer was "no".  So Jesus gave them another opportunity to fish. He told them to go back out in the water and throw their nets on the right side of the boat. When they did (obedience/trust) they were unable to haul the net in because there were so many fish in it. They weren't just little fish either. The Bible describes them as large fish - 153 of them. Whaaaat??  The story goes on to relate how they ate a nice hot breakfast of what else, cooked fish.  (John 21:1-14)

The disciples got in the game. They obeyed and tried again even though they had just come back from a night of fishing without catching anything.  And what happened? They got more fish than they could have ever imagined.  Was that because they were expert fishermen? After all, it was their job. No! It was because they saw an opportunity. They held fast to what could be - the possibilities. When they went back out on the boat the 2nd time, they weren't even sure it was Jesus that gave the instruction. There is a lesson there, as well. Sometimes, sometimes, we are not sure if the direction is from the Lord. What we might find is that we are not really sure until we see that the net is full.

Remember those powerful words found in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."  God's power in you will allow you to do those things that He asks you to do, those things He planned for you. Not 'some' of the things.  'ALL' things. Why? Because He has no limits. The one thing those disciples knew how to do, was fish. But even they couldn't fish that day without God's help. I am of the belief that God wants to open the floodgates of blessing in our lives, in our churches, in our homes, in our schools, at our workplaces. He wants to accomplish through each of us way more than we could ever ask, dream, hope or imagine. He calls us to trust Him. He calls us to get in the game. And we can - because He can! He has no limits except the ones we place on Him.  Just sayin!

Pray Without Ceasing

I believe it is God's desire for us to communicate with Him. Communicating with God verbally or in our thoughts is called prayer. His Word encourages us to talk to Him "without ceasing", and "at all times".

                                             I Thessalonians 5:17 "Pray without ceasing." 

Ephesians 6:18 "Praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication to that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints."

I have charge of the Preschoolers in our church.  I can't imagine serving anywhere else. Preschoolers are so much fun and they learn through movement. Anyone with a 4 or 5-year-old, knows they love to move - A LOT!!  and practically all the time.  Anyway, one of the things we teach them when we are learning about prayer is that we can talk to God anytime (we point to our wrist, aka wristwatch) anywhere (we move our hands to each side of our body at about shoulder height) about anything (we reach our hands to the sky). This, of course, is a simple way to teach kids about talking to God and they totally get it.

But, as adults, prayer needs to go deeper still. Every occurrence, every occasion, every circumstance, every decision we need to make can become a stirring of the Holy Spirit within us to pray.  Prayer needs to become a habit. So much a part of ourselves that it is as frequent and natural as breathing.

I have read a book called The Practice of the Presence of God several times over the years. This book changed my thinking about prayer. The cover of the book invites us to read the spiritual secrets of a humble brother who enjoyed closeness with God.  Brother Lawrence was a Carmelite monk whose sole purpose in life was to remain always in the presence of God - no matter the task, no matter his circumstance - anytime, anywhere, anything!

In his 7th letter to an unnamed friend, Brother Lawrence wrote, "The least little remembrance will always be acceptable to Him. (God) You need not cry very loud; He is nearer to us than we are aware of."  God is always available - just a thought or even a whisper away.

The book goes on to talk about S. Clement of Alexandria. He was a gifted teacher of new Christians in the church at Jerusalem.  I can easily identify with Clement on several levels. You might want to look him up and read about his life. It is quite interesting.  Back to topic...around 190 A.D., Clement wrote the "Stromata" in which he described a man that might be very much like Brother Lawrence. He wrote, "the great business of a philosopher, that is, a wise Christian, is prayer. Such an one prays in every place, at every time, not indeed using many words, or thinking to be heard for his much speaking, but in secret in the depths of his soul, while walking or conversing with his fellow-man, or reading, at the table, when at work. His praises rise to God unceasingly; not only in the morning, and at noon, but in all his actions he glorifies God as do the Seraphim."  Anytime, anywhere, about anything!  Unceasingly in thought, word and deed!  

These types of prayers are called breath prayers; they are short, simple, heartfelt, meaningful, spontaneous, important and valuable. Examples might be when you are watching your child quietly play - you speak a blessing over your child, or pray for their future. When you see a beautiful flower, thank God for the gift of nature. When someone you know comes to mind, ask God to give them the desires of their heart. Short, simple prayers that keep us communicating with God, and in His presence all the time.  Breath prayers can be prayers of praise, worship, love, needs, thanksgiving, blessing, help and so on and so on. Anytime, anywhere about anything! 

Today might be a good day to begin practicing breath prayers and perhaps, like Brother Lawrence, they will become a habit in us leading us to remain always in the presence of God.  I pray it is so!

Breathe in - "Father", breathe out - "draw near to the persons reading this blog today."  

There are many good articles on Breath Prayer. Following is a link to just one.

Guideposts article on Breath Prayers