Ernest Smith

Soooooo….its been awhile since I have communicated here. First, I apologize. It has been a long time, but I have been pretty busy. I have officiated a wedding, had 5 “spots” removed on my body that looked “worrisome”, hosted the 3rd annual Give Hope Gala, served at 6 Christmas Eve services, traveled to visit family, celebrated 9 years with my beautiful bride, honored Sara on her 30th birthday and had shoulder surgery in the middle of it all. Needless to say, things have been busy and I have not had enough opportunities to sit down and communicate what God was showing me.

So here I am, sitting in a hotel room in Lynchburg, Virginia, and I thought “hey, I should write in my blog.” I thought I would start off simple, rather than starting a series of posts or asking for a lot of feedback. I thought I would simply post my thoughts on a powerful message that I heard yesterday morning.

Sunday morning, I was attending Seacoast Church, Mt. Pleasant campus, like I do almost every Sunday and I was anticipating the message. The series that we began is based around the benediction that is read after every service, Ephesians 3:20-21. It states, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

This is the passage that defines the heart and attitude of our Senior Pastor, Greg Surratt. Pastor Greg truly lives out this passage and challenges us as a staff, and congregation, to live out this passage as well. Throughout the series, Pastor Greg is going to break down what it means to live a life that embodies Ephesians 3:20-21. Yesterday’s message focused on the first part of that passage…”Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine”.

Pastor Greg challenged the audience to dream bigger dreams and to allow one’s faith to growth through praying persistently and specifically. As I was sitting there listening, it was pretty clear where I fall short and where I need God’s grace to grow me.

Since becoming a Christ-follower, I have often struggled in my prayer life. Whether it was making enough time or just staying focused during my prayer time, this aspect of my spiritual life has always been lacking. One of the things that I struggle with in the prayer department is being persistent and specific. I am neither.

God spoke to me loud and clear yesterday. If I am wanting great things to happen in 2012, then I need to ask God for immeasurably more and be specific with those prayers. I don’t want to send fluff God’s way anymore. I want to believe that He can do the impossible by praying for the impossible. I know He can, but I want to show that through praying specifically and persistently for the impossible…waiting for God “to do immeasurably more than all we (I) ask or imagine.”

So how about you? Do you want God to do immeasurably more than you could ask or imagine in 2012? If so, then be willing to pray prayers that are both specific and persistent. Join me and let’s see God do the immeasurable.