How To Experience 'Exceedingly Abundantly Above'

"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 Most believers are familiar with this oft-quoted verse, but most have only focused on the power of God to do "exceedingly abundantly above..." But the next part of the verse is vitally important: "...accordingly to the power that works in us...." What IS the power that works in us? It is the resurrection power of God with which he raised Christ from the dead. This power resides in every believer who has been filled with the Spirit of God. So if God is ABLE, why doesn't he? God has set things up in such a way as to bring about dynamic events in our lives, BUT ...we have to do it HIS way. We have to firmly understand that it will not be OUR power that will bring about these things, but HIS power working in us. In order to activate HIS power, we have to get HIS will on any matter. That's not all, and that's not easy. Sometimes his will is not our will. Think of Jesus who was notified that his friend Lazarus was very sick. If you read the story closely, you will notice that Lazarus and his two sisters were personal friends of Jesus. But when he was notified that Lazarus was very sick, he did not immediately go to the scene, in fact he waited several DAYS before starting out. Would you have been able to do this? If you had the power to heal, and if you were notified that a personal friend of yours was very sick, would you have been able to not budge until the Father so directed you? This is almost super-human restraint, but it showed to what degree Jesus was surrendered to the Father. It must have been painful for Jesus, because this was not just one in a crowd, this was a close personal friend. Yet ...Jesus waited. This is what it takes to see the power of God working through us. It takes a totally surrendered heart, a heart so surrendered that it will not act on its own, and will have sufficient RESTRAINT to wait for direction from the Father. That necessitates TIME, time spent alone with the Father. Throughout the Gospels it mentions how Jesus went aside alone to pray. If the Son of God had to go aside to pray until he knew the will of the Father, how much more do WE need to! If you want to see the power of God working in your life, you MUST take the TIME to go aside into communication with the Father. Every problem in your life will have a very specific remedy, and nothing can be accomplished until you have sought the will of God and asked him to reveal to you the remedy for this situation. You must wait on him until you have that answer. And then, and only then, can you go forward in faith - faith that whatever the Father shows you to do - will succeed - even if it takes a period of time in which you must only wait. "I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is righteous, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the Father who sent me." John 5:30