BEING PERSISTENT IN PRAYER!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY APRIL 25, 2020.

SUBJECT: BEING PERSISTENT IN PRAYER!

Memory verse: "Then He spoke 

a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.

” (Luke 18 vs 1.)

READ: Luke 18 vs 2 - 8: 

18:2: Saying, There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.
18:3: Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’
18:4: And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man,
18:5: yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
18:6: Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said.
18:7: And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?
18:8: I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man comes, will he really find faith on the earth?”

INTIMATION:

Prayer is to make supplication or petition to God. It is the call of love of the Father to come and fellowship with Him. Prayer is our need crying out for help. It is facing God with man's needs, with His promise to meet those needs. He taught us to pray, He is one with us in this prayer life. Prayer is part of God's program for us. It is the desire of the Father that His children approach Him in prayer. It is the natural response of those who recognize their need for the help of God in their lives. It is the voice of faith to the Father. Prayer therefore, is born out of the sense of need, and the assurance that the need will be met.

Prayer institute a vital contact with the Father, we are near enough to breathe in His very presence. Prayer means that we have come boldly into the Throne Room and are standing in His presence. It is more than bringing Him to the scene. It is going into the presence of the Father and Jesus in an executive meeting, laying our needs before them with your strong reasons, and making our requisitions for ability, for grace, healing for someone, victory for someone, or financial needs, and so on. Whatever the needs may be, we are making a demand upon Him.

Most Christians have realized the fact that the Father's heart is hungry for the companionship of His children. His heart hunger is the reason for man and his redemption. God wants a constant fellowship with His children. It was His plan from the beginning hence He visited Adam everyday in the Garden. He loves us and that love impels Him to call us to constantly commune with Him. It is God's Will that His children will persistently come to Him, to stand in His presence  without reproof or condemnation. It is God's intention that His children will visit their Father, coming joyously into the presence of their Loving Parent, and are welcome.

To persist in prayer and not give up, or praying without ceasing (First Thessalonians 5 vs 17), does not mean endless repetition or painfully long prayer sessions. Constant prayer means keeping our requests continually before God as we live for Him day by day, believing He will answer. When we live by faith, we are not to give up. God may delay answering, but His delays always have good reasons. As we persist in prayer, we grow in character, faith, and hope. We are in constant communication with the Father and it enriches us spiritually. We touch the Father through our prayers, and there cannot be any touching of the Master without the Master knowing it. When our need touches Him, it makes a demand upon his ability to meet that need. 

For instance, one day when the crowd was pressing around the Master, Jesus said, "Who touched Me?" And they said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You,  and You say, "Who touched Me?" But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me." (Luke 8 vs 45 - 47.) The woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, touched Him, making a demand upon His ability to meet her need, and the Master knew it, and she got her need met - she was healed of the disease (See Luke 8 vs 40 - 48). 

In the passage we read today, the unjust judge responded to constant pressure of the widow, and avenged her adversary. Then, if we persist in prayer, how much more will a great and loving God respond to us? If we know He loves us, we can believe He will hear our cries for help. Persistence in prayer helps us recognize God’s work, and overcomes our insensitivity. To practice persistence does more to change our heart and mind; it helps us understand and express the intensity of our need. 

Believers need to continue earnestly in prayer and be vigilant in it. Our persistence is an expression of our faith that God answers our prayers. Faith shouldn’t die if the answers come slowly, for the delay may be God’s way of working His will in our life. When you feel tired of praying, know that God is present, always listening, always answering—maybe not in ways you had hoped, but in ways that He knows are best. Though we cannot spend all our time on our knees, but it is possible to have a prayerful attitude at all times. This attitude is built upon acknowledging our dependence on God, realizing His presence within us, and determining to obey Him fully. Then we will find it natural to pray frequent, spontaneous, short prayers. 

Prayer: Abba Father, my utmost heart desire is to be in Your presence at all times, constantly communing with You. Give me the grace to function accordingly, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!