HAVE A CONTINUED ATTITUDE OF PRAYER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY MAY 11, 2024.

SUBJECT : HAVE A CONTINUED ATTITUDE OF PRAYER!

Memory verse: "Pray without ceasing." (First Thessalonians 5 vs 17.)

READ: Luke 18 vs 1 - 8:

18:1: Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 

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:

It is the desire of the Father that His children approach Him in prayer. It is through prayer that, not only the inward man is strengthened, but also the work of God is called upon by the believer to function in his or her life. Prayer is the natural response of those who recognize their need for the help of God in their lives. 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’s 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 prayer.

Prayer is the call of Love of the Father to come and fellowship with Him. Prayer is our need crying out for help. It is the voice of faith to the Father. It is for this reason that the Lord wants us to always pray; always be in His presence. Prayer, then, is facing God with man's needs, with His promise to meet those needs. It is born out of the sense of need, and the assurance that the need will be met. The Lord taught us to pray, He is one with us in this prayer life. Prayer is part of God's program for us.

It is God's Will that His children will come to His Throne Room, to stand in His presence without reproof or condemnation. It is for this reason that Jesus Christ, while teaching His disciples how to pray, said, "When you pray" (Matthew 6 vs 5), and not "If you pray." It is God's intention that His children will visit their Father, the children coming joyously into the presence of their Loving Parent, and are welcome.

The apostle Paul, in consonance with the Lord’s demand, says we should pray without ceasing; persist in prayer and not give up; continuing steadfastly, and earnestly in it, and being vigilant in it with thanksgiving (Romans 12 vs 12; Colossians 4 vs 2). To persist in prayer does not mean endless repetition or painfully long prayer sessions. It means keeping our requests constantly before God as we live for Him day by day, believing He will answer. Emphasis here is not on a continued action of prayer, but on a continued attitude of prayer. In other words, the believer should be in a state of mind that he or she can at all times take part in the action of praying to the Father; being of an attitude at all times that is conducive for offering prayer to God. 

When we live by faith, we are not to give up. God may delay answering, but His delays have good reasons. As we persist in prayer we grow in character, faith, and hope. When we pray, 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.) Touching the Master is making a demand from Him. 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, we learned that the Lord wants us to persist in prayer and not give up. It’s a Christian behavior, and 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 one’s life. He is ever present—Omnipresent—, always listening, always answering, may be not in ways you had hoped, but in ways that He knows are best as the All-knowing—Omniscient God. If the unjust judge responds to constant pressure, 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.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my Loving Father, and Faithful Companion. Endue me with the spirit of continuous prayer and supplication to You, making my requests known to You, with thanksgiving, believing that You will come through to me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!