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, to him be the glory in the assembly and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

(Ephesians 3:20-21)

Relational

God is calling us to depend on him. After all, he is God Almighty. Even when he calls us to be his co-workers, he wants us to remember that he is the author and the source of all things. He is our Heavenly Father; we were created to lean on his presence.

That is why prayer is the most important gift in our life and ministry. We should ask God for what we need — simply because he most certainly has it. And our Father is always willing to look after us out of love. This is a truth even a child can grasp.

But the days of our childhood have passed long ago. As we have grown older, our relationship with God has matured, too. It's not that we think he has changed. We are just looking at him differently. He is not the same all-powerful Dad to us anymore. And more so, we quickly feel he is not as close to us as he used to be. We can hardly remember what it was like to sit on his lap. But that's understandable. We are almost the same size now!

Unfortunately, this growing sense of independence comes with the burden of responsibility. And because we think God now expects us to get along without his constant help, our prayer objective is misdirected. Not truly believing we can give our whole life in the hands of the Father, we settle for begging for more of his power. We unconsciously start seeking the power and gifts of the Spirit more than the Holy Spirit himself because we no longer see ourselves as God's beloved little children.

But we don't just need more power from God. We need a closer relationship with Him. He has everything we need, and abundantly above all that.