TEXT:
‘One day Jesus told his disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must keep praying until the answer comes’ (Luke 18:1 TLB)
THOUGHT:
Prayer is a subject so few really know about, particularly if they are of the opinion there is no God. While Proverbs teaches, ‘Only a fool would say to himself, “There is no God”’ (Psalm 53:1 TLB), in a time of crisis it is amazing how many start to call on God for help. Something inside urges them to do it. Jesus said, “I want people to pray and not lose heart.”
Be careful not to be overcome when praying
When are we likely to lose heart and give up praying?
- When the need appears to be too great, even for God
The sheer scale of infections and deaths daily increasing can cause us to think it’s impossible. God reminded Jeremiah, ‘I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?’ (Jeremiah 32:27 NLT).
- When God does not keep to our timetable
We think God is too late as Martha said concerning the death of Lazarus, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died’ (John 11:21). Little did she know that a greater miracle was about to take place. When we pray we are putting the matter into God’s hands and timing.
- When the opposite happens to what we are praying for
Sometimes things get worse before they get better, as Moses discovered when God sent him to free the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt. Yet everything was going to plan.
- When we are physically tired and weak
When the disciples stopped praying and fell asleep through exhaustion, they missed seeing the angel who strengthened Jesus as He continued praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.
- When we go past the point of physical possibility
Abraham and Sarah, Zacharias and Elizabeth all desperately wanted children but reached the point when it became impossible to conceive. It looked like their dream was over and they stopped praying. Yet God was still able to intervene and their heartache turned to joy, so do not give up.
Overcoming in Prayer
What can help us to persist in prayer?
- When we know what we can pray for
This is when we understand God’s promises for us. Not knowing this will greatly hinder our praying. Once we discover a promise is for us, how it lifts our hearts as we remind God of it. We have been given, ‘Exceedingly great and precious promises’ (2 Pet 1:4). When we find the promise, we can also find the answer!
- When we understand what will hinder our prayers
Two scriptures in particular can help us in this respect.
‘The Lord will not hear me if I hold on to sin in my heart’ (Psalm 66:18 NLV).
‘When you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too’ (Mark 11:25 NLT).
- When we continue to pray regardless of what we see or feel naturally
Do not fall into the trap of, “I prayed once and nothing happened.” Instead be like Elijah who prayed seven times before the rain came. James reminds us that Elijah was just as human as we are. If he could get an answer from God, we can too!
Jesus taught that we should Ask, Seek and Knock. Intensify your prayer until you get an answer and breakthrough. Faith will keep us praying when our mind tells us to stop.
- When we are willing to change what we are praying for.
Hannah prayed for a son year after year. One day she prayed, ‘O Lord of heaven, if you will look down upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you, and he’ll be yours for his entire lifetime’ (1 Samuel 1:11 TLB). That was the day her prayer was answered. When we do not know exactly what to pray for, the Holy Spirit will help us, especially when we pray with other tongues, our heavenly prayer language.
- When we have a sense of praise in our praying
‘Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done’ (Philippians 4:6 NLT). What we are doing is thanking God for the answer we know is coming before it has come. The assurance that God has answered fills our heart and we can say, “I’ve got it!”
Finally, in response to Solomon’s prayer of dedication at the opening of the temple God said, ‘If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land’ (2 Chronicles 7:14).
Solomon’s temple was destroyed years ago but through Jesus, God has created another one. ‘Don’t you realise that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?’ (1 Corinthians 6:19 NLT). So today, as back then, God promises to be attentive to our prayers.
Do not simply use someone else’s words; use your own when you talk to God. Then listen carefully, for He will have something to say back to you, for He has promised, ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know’ (Jeremiah 33:3).
A prayer you can pray to ask God for His help.
O God, I am worried about the future. I need your peace. I am sorry for the things I have done which were wrong. Please forgive me as I forgive everyone who has wronged me. Come into my life Lord Jesus, be my Saviour and be with me for the rest of my life. Thank you for hearing this prayer. Amen.
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