Researchers in Europe went door to door, asking people about their belief in God. One question was this: "Do you believe in a God who intervenes in human lives, who changes the course of history, and performs miracles?" A typical response to this question was "No, I don't believe in that God. I believe in the ordinary God."

I admit that it can be tempting to prefer "the ordinary God"—that is, a God who is there when I need him but who remains mostly quiet in the background while I go about my life.

Fortunately the Scriptures do not let us settle with that notion of an ordinary God. The Jesus we meet in the New Testament entered our world, carried our burden of sin to the cross, died in our place, and then rose from the dead and later ascended to rule with God in heaven. This is no ordinary God.

The God of the Bible does in fact break into our lives in all kinds of surprising, beautiful, and disruptive ways. In fact, the one true God is beyond extraordinary. And all of this is conveyed in this remarkable prayer of Paul: "I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings" and then to experience that resurrection as well.

What a prayer! How would my life change if this became my life's prayer? What could happen if I prayed this for the people in my life?