ABOVE ALL WE ASK OR THINK!

We think ordinary, God thinks extraordinary. We think, “Let me have enough to keep me,” God thinks of abundance. We think, “Let me manage this pain or illness,” God thinks freedom or complete healing. The scripture 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,” Ephesians 3:20

God specializes in doing “above all we ask or think.” What He has in store for you is bigger, more rewarding, more fulfilling than you can imagine. We are asking for what is possible but God wants to do what is impossible. God is not going to do what you are asking for, He is going to do “above all you ask or think.”

In the scripture, a woman called Hannah prayed and wept before God for one son, but God’s desire for her was three sons and two daughters… And she received God’s desire!  (1 Samuel 1:11, 2:21) I like the fact that God didn’t say Hannah you ask for one son so one son you will have. God gave her three sons and two daughters. Hannah received above all she asked or thought!

God is going to open doors you never dreamed would open. He is going to take you further than you can imagine. You are going to look back and think, “I never dreamed I would be this blessed, never dreamed I would be in this position, never dreamed I would marry somebody this special”. Get ready. God is about to do ‘above all you ask or think.” He is going to make things happen that you didn’t see coming. You didn’t deserve it… It’s just the goodness of God showing favour in your life.

Another person I will like to talk about in the scripture is a man who had been crippled all his life and every day his family would carry him to the temple and set him outside by the gate. As people came in, he would ask them for money. He was 40 years old and had done this all his life, day after day this is how he survived. 

One day, Peter and John came to the temple. The man went through his normal speech, can you help me out with some money”? Most people ignored him and kept walking, but Peter stopped and said to the man, “Look at us”. The scripture says the man looked up expecting to receive something; thinking they were going to give him some coins but Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise and walk.” (Acts 3:6)

Peter took him by the hand, pulled him up, and instantly he was healed. He started walking. He was so excited, leaping, thanking God… As we notice, the man was expecting a few coins. He was expecting the ordinary, the same thing that he had been receiving for many years. However, God showed up and did the “above all he ask or think.” He didn’t see it coming. He thought he would have to lay by that gate and beg the rest of his life, but one moment of favour, one “above all he ask or think” relocated him to a new level and changed his whole life for good.

Like Peter told the crippled man, I’m telling you to rise and walk. It’s your time to be free, it’s your time to break bondages, it’s your time to go to new levels, it is your time to live a life of joy and I believe that every force that’s holding you back is being broken right now. God is releasing healing, favour, new opportunities, restoration, and freedom. This is a new day and God is doing a new thing in your life… You are walking into your “above all that you ask or think.”

I love the fact that even though this crippled man had low expectations, even though all he was expecting was a few coins, God didn’t say, too bad, I had something much better, but you don’t have enough faith. I was going to let you walk, but you are not expecting enough”. God is so merciful. Even when we don’t have faith, even when we think we have reached our limits, God says, “That’s okay. I’m going to show you favour despite that”.

FAITH AS A MUSTARD SEED!

The scripture says when we have faith as the size of a mustard seed, nothing is impossible. A mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds. God could have said, “If you have great faith or faith like an elephant, if you never doubt, never get discouraged, then I will do something big”. But God knew there would be times when we didn’t have the faith we needed to reach our destinies, so He said, “If you have just a little bit of faith, that’s all you need, then I will show up and do “above all you ask or think”. (Matthew 17:20)

The fact that you are reading this message today, the fact that you are expecting something from God, tells me that you have at least a mustard-seed faith. That means you have the faith you need for God to show up in your life. You have the faith for God to catapult you to new levels, but, like this man, you may feel like you are stuck, doing the same thing. You don’t know how to handle the challenges any more! Now you are expecting a few coins, so to speak or expecting to live with it… That’s where he was, yet God showed up and did the extraordinary. 

You may have a good reason to settle where you are, but God loves you too much to let you miss your destiny. It may seem like another ordinary year, same thing, everything looks routine. It seems as if the situation is getting better but goes back to how it was. No, get ready. God is about to show up and do something unusual, something that you haven’t seen. He is going to do “above all that you ask or think.”

When the people in the temple saw the crippled man up walking, thanking God, they couldn’t believe it. The scripture says they were astonished, and what God is about to do in your life is going to cause people to look at you in astonishment. They are going to think, “How could you be so blessed? I know where you came from”. “How could you be free when so many around you are addicted”? “How could you be so strong, so healthy, so energetic? The medical report said you weren’t going to get well”. God is going to make you an example of His goodness. 

I read about a man who had kidney challenges most of his life. They continued to go through tough times and he got to the point where he needed a transplant. His wife prayed and believed that she would be a match. She went in for the test and found out that she was a perfect match, and they were both so grateful. They went to the hospital to have the transplant. When the surgeons opened up the wife to take out the kidney, they were pleasantly surprised. They found she had three kidneys instead of two. This is very rare, but all of her kidneys were perfectly healthy. They removed one kidney, gave it to her husband, and left her still with two.

That was God doing “above all they ask or think.” God has it all figured out. He knows what you are going to need. He knows who you are going to need. He is lining up the right occasion, and the right people. He is directing your steps, just as scripture talked about in Ephesians; the surpassing greatness of God’s favour. (Ephesians 2:7) You are going to come into these moments where you see God surpass anything you have imagined. You couldn’t have made it happen. It’s just the goodness of God.

God is saying to you today, “I’m about to do “above all you ask or think.” I’m about to show you favour in ways that you have never seen before”. Now, my advice is to allow this insight to take root in your spirit. It’s easy to dismiss it and say it will never happen. The odds are against me. It’s been too long”. You may have obstacles in your path and challenges coming against you, today in your health, your finances, or your relationship. You are asking God to turn it around. Stay encouraged. God is not only going to bring you out, He is going to bring you out better than you were before. He is going to do “above all you ask or think!”

Now, don’t talk yourself out of it. Sometimes when we have challenges in an area for so long, we become comfortable. Like the crippled man, we are expecting a few coins, something to sustain us, to help us manage the situation. God is about to do a new thing. He is going to take you from where you have been to an amazing place you have never been before. No more coins, no more stagnation, no more being barren, no more being stuck in those challenges. You are about to come into some of these “above all you ask or think” without going back to the challenges!

You have been faithful, you have honoured God, and now God is about to show out in your life. Every morning, say “Lord, I want to thank you for doing above all I ask or think”. If you do this, I decree and declare new doors to open, new opportunities, increase, the promotion that you didn’t see coming. Those challenges are turning around, health is being restored… “above all you ask or think” is coming your way in Jesus’ name.

The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”