Hi Ladies,
This week, I am writing this as much for myself as I am for you. May is here! And whether you are a teacher, a student, a parent, or you are connected to any one of these, you know that May represents busyness. Perhaps more than that, it reveals our need for perseverance. When we get so close to the end of something, it can be easy to wish it here faster, to get careless or calloused, or simply to grow weary of putting in the work. I understand these feelings!
I’ve been thinking about perseverance as it relates to our theme of “Abide” this year. If we are not persevering from a Source that is unending, we will certainly crash. Yet it’s easy to say “keep abiding!” and still lose sight of how to live this out practically in the various areas of our lives, especially those that demand perseverance. So, as I have prayed this week about what to have us meditate and focus our prayers on, I believe we are to take this month of May and look at the specific areas in which Scripture tells us to persevere, and how we are to do that.
We’re going to start with the most powerful, but perhaps the hardest and most neglected:
Persevering in prayer.
As someone has said, prayer is not the only work, but it is the greatest work. And it is not simply a one-time work. Soak in the passages below:
“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17).
“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” (Col. 4:2).
“Be constant in prayer” (Rom. 12:12).
“Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Eph. 6:18).
“And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, “Give me justice against my adversary.” For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, “Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.”’ And the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily….’” (Luke 18:1-8a).
The above passages are prescriptive; they tell us what to do. But there are a number of descriptive passages as well, showing us believers who persisted in prayer:
In chapter ten of his book, Daniel tells of receiving a terrifying vision, and his praying and mourning for three weeks. (Before you say, “Well, that’s not long compared to what I’m experiencing!”, read the whole book and put yourself in his shoes 🙂). After three weeks of semi-fasting, an angelic messenger arrives and says, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words” (Dan. 10:12).
In 1 Kings 18, Elijah tells Ahab that it’s finally going to rain after years of drought. He prays, and tells his servant to go look for the rain clouds. The servant comes back and reports nothing. He tells him to go look again. Scripture doesn’t specifically say that Elijah went back to praying, but it is certainly implied. This exchange happens seven times! And after the seventh trip up the mountain, he finally sees the rain coming (1 Kings 18:41-46).
Paul prays “three times” for God to take away his thorn. And God responds, just not with what Paul is wanting in the moment. But as he persists in prayer, God realigns Paul’s heart with His so that by the end, Paul is boasting in his thorn! (2 Cor. 12:7-9).
We could look at more examples, but I hope the point is clear. God calls us to persist in prayer!
But. Why?
Scripture doesn’t give us a mathematical equation kind of answer. But here is what is clear:
It’s not because there is a magical number of times to pray.
It’s not because we have to prove our sincerity to God.
It is because God has designed us to communicate constantly with Him. (Think daily bread! Mt: 6:11)
It is because we are fully dependent on Him, for everything.
It is because our prayers are the means by which He does His perfect work.
It is because He works through our prayers, not only to bring about the prayer, but more importantly to transform our hearts in the process.
This is His good and perfect design, that we persevere in prayer.
But. How?
That little frustration that seems too small to bring to Him? Do it. Every time.
That “impossible” situation that you’ve given up praying for? Bring it to Him. Again.
That long-term illness? Don’t resign yourself to despair. Pray, and trust for proportional grace each day.
That painful relationship? Pray like a little child who has no inhibitions coming to his father, and trust that your Heavenly Father has infinite experience in the business of forgiveness and reconciliation.
And don’t grow weary of praying. He loves to hear from you.
Let’s pray for one another this week, that we would always pray - big and small - and not lose heart. And let’s pray that our trust in Him would grow, believing that He is constantly at work whether we see it or not. He is! ❤️🙏🏼
Anna
No comments:
Post a Comment