Exceeding Abundantly: Paul’s Prayer From a Prison Cell

Paul declared God's immeasurable power while living as a prisoner. His words in Ephesians 3 remind us that our circumstances cannot place limits on what God is able to do.

By EEW Magazine Online Inspiration Editors

Paul wrote his prayer for the church at Ephesus while he was a prisoner for the Gospel.

The Apostle Paul had plenty of reasons to feel limited. He was a prisoner, unable to travel freely or visit the churches he loved. He depended on others to carry his letters, and his future was uncertain. Yet when he prayed for the believers at Ephesus, his words were filled with extraordinary confidence in God.

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Ephesians 3:20, KJV).

Earlier in the chapter, Paul described himself as “the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles” (Ephesians 3:1). Near the end of the letter, he called himself “an ambassador in bonds” (Ephesians 6:20). Restricted as his freedom was, his understanding of God's power remained expansive. He held on to a truth that is easy to lose when life becomes difficult: the circumstances that limit us place no limit on God.

The word translated “exceeding abundantly” is hyperekperissou, an unusually emphatic Greek expression meaning beyond measure. Paul was describing an ability so great that even our boldest prayers and highest expectations cannot exhaust it.

Look at what he had just prayed. In Ephesians 3:16-19, Paul asked God to strengthen believers through His Spirit, establish them in Christ's love, and help them comprehend a love so vast that it surpasses human understanding. He prayed that they would be filled with all the fullness of God.

These were enormous requests. Paul wanted believers to experience the transforming presence of God in the deepest parts of their lives. Then, after asking for all of that, he declared that God was able to do even more.

We often approach God with prayers shaped by what we have experienced. After enough disappointments, we may become hesitant to ask for much. A long season of waiting can make yesterday's expectations seem unrealistic. We begin measuring tomorrow's possibilities against today's circumstances.

Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3 invites believers to bring God requests larger than their circumstances.

Paul invites us to lift our eyes beyond what we can presently see. The Greek word behind “think” in Ephesians 3:20 is noeō, which refers to what the mind can perceive, understand, or conceive. God's ability extends beyond even the greatest possibilities we can imagine.

Paul also tells us where that power is already operating. God's ability flows “according to the power that worketh in us,” and earlier in the letter Paul identified that power as the same power that raised Christ from the dead (Ephesians 1:19-20).

That gives you reason for confidence. Even while you wait for an answer, God can strengthen you. While you face circumstances you cannot change, He can deepen your faith and establish you more firmly in His love. His Spirit is able to accomplish a work in you that reaches far beyond what you know to ask for.

God is also able to open doors, heal bodies, restore relationships, and bring about changes that seem impossible. We can bring those desires before Him with confidence, trusting His wisdom and power.

The man who wrote about immeasurable power was still a prisoner, and his restrictions never diminished what God was able to do. Through Paul's prayers and the letter he sent to encourage the church, God was accomplishing something that would reach believers for generations.

Paul ended his prayer by giving glory to God “in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end” (Ephesians 3:21, KJV). He understood that God's work reaches further than any one person's circumstances or lifetime.

So stop shrinking your prayers to fit what you see around you. Bring your needs before the Lord, along with the desires you hardly dare to speak, and ask Him to accomplish His purposes in your life.

Whatever limitations you are facing today, you serve the same God Paul praised from his chains. He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that you ask or think, and His power is already at work in you.