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Can we rely on the power of God?

First, God is powerful enough to do anything. As Jesus said after talking with the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17-22), "… all things are possible with God" (Mark 10:27). There is nothing that God can't do. But there are restrictions on what He will do. In John 14:14, Jesus says, "If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it" (emphasis added). This promise says two things: 1) we must ask in His name (that is, in accordance with His will), and 2) there is nothing that is in His will that He won't do if we ask it. This is a great promise of His power.

So, how do we tap into that power? As Jesus' promise states, what we ask must be in accordance with His will. In order to be sure that we are in accordance with His will, we must continually be in a right relationship with Him. That means that we must continually strive to do according to what we know is His will and we must confess our sins as soon as we are aware that we have committed them. In the latter case, we are assured that He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness and restore us to a right relationship with Him (1 John 1:9). It also means that we must constantly seek to know His will. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit, who will never leave us (John 14:16) "… will teach [us] all things" (John 14:26), and this includes what His will is. This is not to say that everything we want when we are in a right relationship with Him is in accordance with His will. For example, Paul tells of a "thorn in the flesh" (2 Corinthians 12:7-9) that he was afflicted with. He prayed earnestly for God to take it away, but instead God told him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul did not know the will of God when he prayed, but God's will was made clear to him afterward. Then, based on the rest of the passage, Paul, who wanted the will of God, was not only willing to put up with the problem, but he rejoiced that he had the problem.

We know, from the word, that He "is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us" (Ephesians 3:20). In addition, we have faith, given from God, (Ephesians 2:8-9) to act according to that power so that "… for those who love God all things work together for good" (Romans 8:28). Since God is the one who works all things for our good and He has the power to do anything, we can rely on His power in everything. If we meet the requirements He lays down (we love Him and are in a right relationship with Him and ask according to His will), we can rely on His power in all circumstances.

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