During my winter break from teaching, the Holy Spirit gifted me with an important revelation that I want to share with you about God’s greatness and power. After reading several devotionals on prayer, I realized that too often I pray with low expectations. I wondered why and asked for some insight. It seems I was operating from a false belief that good and evil are equally powerful forces. This untruth is illustrated in the movies about epic battles such as Star Wars, the Lord of the Rings, and the Avengers films from Marvel/Disney. The “good” guys are always woefully outnumbered in force and outmatched in weaponry. Even using “supernatural” powers, the “good” guys always prevail using their own physical strength.
Here is the truth – God is omnipotent. NO ONE is more powerful than He is. It is easy to feel that evil has the upper hand because what is evil in our world is often more obvious than that which is good and gets more “press.” The media focuses on catastrophe because it draws more readers, and more readers means more clicks or likes, and that means more revenue for advertisers. Jesus reminds us in Matthew 13:33 that the Kingdom of God is like leaven that has been added to flour. We don’t see the yeast working but it steadily multiplies until it has worked throughout the entire batch of dough. Our God tends to work in secret, behind the scenes, transforming minds, changing hearts, and empowering followers. Just because we don’t “see” Him at work, doesn’t mean He is not working (John 5:17).
Another word of truth – only one third of the heavenly host rebelled against God and were expelled from heaven. That means that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies still has twice as many angelic soldiers as the evil one. As Elijah pointed out to his servant, ”Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (2 Kings 6:16). Elijah could “see” the spiritual army at work but his servant was unaware until his eyes were opened.
In a similar way, the Holy Spirit “opened” my eyes to see that God’s power is unlimited. He is omnipotent. His:
- Goodness is more powerful than evil
- Healing is more powerful than illness or affliction
- Abundance is more powerful than lack
- Peace is more powerful than war or conflict
- Unity is more powerful than division
- Hope is more powerful than despair
- Salvation is more powerful than sin
- Forgiveness is more powerful than offense
- Love is more powerful than hate
- Life is more powerful than death
- Justice is more powerful than injustice
- Strength is more powerful than weakness
- Wisdom is more powerful than foolishness
- Truth is more powerful than lies and deception
- Light is more powerful than darkness
- Protection is more powerful than danger
- Faith is more powerful than fear
- Joy is more powerful than sorrow and grief
- Care is more powerful than neglect
- Faithfulness is more powerful than abandonment and rejection
With God, Victory is assured. God is victorious in all situations and circumstances because He is omnipotent – all powerful. He wins all His battles. His purpose stands and His plan succeeds. His Word accomplishes what He pleases. His will prevails. (Isaiah 55:11, Proverbs 19:21, Deuteronomy 19:17, Revelation 17:14, 1 Samuel 17:47, Psalm 24:8) With this knowledge, my prayers are now more like what the apostle described so well in 1 John 5:14-15: “Now this the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
We worship and serve a God who has already won the war between good and evil. I encourage you to pray expectantly, based on who God is, anticipating victorious outcomes to your petitions and requests. I also recommend praying this prayer from a devotional on Psalm 91:
LORD, I come to You and ask You to fill the empty places inside me with more of You. I ask for all that You have for me. Help me fulfill the unique calling You have for my life. Let my life count for You and Your kingdom work. Thank You for the promise of a long and satisfied life. In the name of Jesus. Amen
Note: according to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, the word translated “salvation” includes health, healing, deliverance, rescue, safety, protection, and provision. As Jesus followers we can experience:
- Salvation from illness and affliction
- Salvation from danger, oppression, harassment
- Salvation from slavery to sin
- Salvation from captivity, imprisonment
- Salvation from lack, want, need
- Salvation from lies and deception
- Salvation from fear
- Salvation from loneliness
- Salvation from weakness, helplessness, ineffectiveness
- Salvation from separation, distance, isolation
- Salvation from hopelessness and despair
