Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
for he breaks down gates of bronze
and cuts through bars of iron.
(Psalm 107:15-16)

Do we believe God can break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron? Do we believe God can do things vastly beyond anything we could ask or imagine? Too often we say that God is powerful—able to do all things, even—but then rarely look for God to do powerful things in and around our lives. We temper our expectations down to more tame heights or abstract aims.

At times this is because of uncertainty or fear. We say, “God is might to save, but will He do it here and now with this specific situation?” Unsure, we draw back from asking because we do not want to be disappointed if God does not answer in the way we hope or timing we would like.

But this reveals a deeper problem of our faith. If faith “is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1), then even if we do not see what we pray for, true faith still believes that God is at work. We walk by faith and not be sight. True faith is not decimated by perceptions, otherwise it would not be faith at all but something else. Faith believes God is at work, able to do vastly beyond anything we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20) and bringing to completion the glorious work He has begun in us (Philippians 1:6).