03/20/2018
Have you given up on certain desires because you prayed for them once, twice, three times, and they were not given to you? Have you resolved yourself to the fact that God just doesn’t want you to have this thing, or that He just doesn’t hear you? Well, if you are praying rightly in the will of God and not asking Him to go against His character and Word, then neither of these assumptions are correct. Persistent prayer leads us into the very crux of faith.
“And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
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. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"”
Luke 18:1, 6-8 ESV
The most important part of our bible reading today is the final sentence... “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Faith... it just doesn’t happen; it is sweated over, and sought out diligently; it is the fruit of suffering, and the wine of a crushed and fermented life. Faith comes from patience, and a confidence in God and His Word.
I love to watch nature documentaries that deal with exploration, and it amazes me to see creatures that exist on this earth that are so foreign to anything I could have imagined. One place that seems to contain a multitude of them is the deep ocean. I have watched as naturalists get into a small submersible and descend into these depths over and over again searching for a certain sea creature that might have been caught up in fishermen’s net once or twice in all of history... yet they continue the search for them.
If men and women can search out creatures such as this, and fruitlessly go time and time again into depths that could crush their tiny craft, and them as well; then who am I to abandon the prayer that surrounds and carries my desires into God’s presence? Are the hopes and desires of these scientists more perfectly formed and pursued than my dreams and needs before the Father? Is their faith in a man built craft, and finding a creature in the dark and crushing depths of the ocean, more perfect than my faith? Some have spent a lifetime in the pursuit of a single elusive creature, and yet I am tempted to abandon my dream after a week, a month, a year, or several years... why?
I have come to the conclusion that the more intently you pursue something, the more you desire it, and the more you desire it, the greater your faith becomes in obtaining it. We know God’s Word, and we know that He answers our prayers, and yet we abandon our desires because we have not pursued them with an intensity that perfects our faith. The important thing in prayer is not the answer, or the thing we wish God to give us... it is the robustness of the faith that comes in going to Him over and over again with an ever increasing belief that this is the day that my prayer will be answered.
I am on a three man Intercessory prayer team that has been in existence for over thirty five years. I am the junior member and have only been praying as a part of the team for almost three years, but in that time I have experienced folks whose prayers are answered immediately, and others who come in every Monday night, as we pray for their same desire or need week after week. What I have seen in doing this has blessed me beyond my ability to describe. In these repeated prayers I have seen a few truths surface that are remarkable.
The first is that their prayer is never being ignored. I pray with them, and watch as this person is changed, sometimes ever so slowly, with each prayer that is prayed. The transformation is often so subtle that they cannot see it happening in themselves, but it is. It is like growing old; we stand in front of the mirror each morning and shave, or put on makeup, for years on end, and then one morning we put the razor, or the makeup brush down, and there looking back at us is a wrinkled face surrounded by grey hair. It happens so slowly, but happen it does. Faith is like aging, it is like a bottle of fine wine... at what moment did it reach the richness of taste that makes it a treasure? Was it the time that passed, or was it what was ever so slowly occurring in the bottle? This is faith... it is perfected by our prayers and insistence on believing that our unseen hope is real, true, and imminent.
The second thing that I have noticed is that a prayer is offered over and over again, until one day the realization strikes that the real desire has become the prayer, and not what is being prayed for. The journey by way of that prayer into the presence of God has become the true blessing, and what once seemed so important and necessary is just a vehicle that brings us back to Him every day. When this happens, the answer usually comes swiftly thereafter, and is anticlimactic when it arrives. It leaves a person wondering what in their life can replace that one prayer. What can they ask of God that will allow them to come to Him repeatedly as He takes their faith to yet another level.
The last observation about persistent prayer that I will share with you today is that sometimes a person prays for something their entire life, and think that they never received it, only to find that what they were praying for during those years, and what they truly wanted were two entirely different things. Perhaps they were praying for order and peace within their family when what they really desired was to feel loved, or needed.
God knows our heart, and He answers our prayers, but sometimes we lose sight of the bigger picture and that is our faith and relationship with Him. The quick answers to prayer are nice, and they keep us going. They are like a trip to the Emergency Room at the hospital... they get us through an immediate situation, but the real object in maintaining a good healthy prayer life is to pray every day... to feel the constant small pains of life and overcome them by changing our faithful behavior, diet, or gaining a deeper understanding of God in our life itself.
So we each day we get into our submersible of prayer, and we go down into the depths of life searching for something. We turn on our lights and stare into the darkness hoping for a glimpse of the thing we believe to be there... just beyond our ability to see. We brave a crushing pressure that surrounds us and search, but when at last we see what we have been longing for, and the cameras click, and our excitement in the moment peaks, then we come to the realization that it wasn’t the discovery at all that had truly thrilled us... it was the journey. It was the faith that had increased with every dive, and with every eye straining moment spent believing that the answer was there.
So, wine ages over time, and the grapes must be crushed and fermented by a yeast that consumes their sugar until at last what is left behind is the real treasure. Our persistent prayer is like that wine; when the bottle is finally opened, and the taste of years of effort is on our tongue, we realize that all of the crushing, the stirring, the fermenting, has left us with a rich and remarkable faith. In the end, we would go through all of the waiting, and suffering again because that is what produced the character and faith that was eventually uncorked at God’s table. That is journey of believing, hoping, and faith.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for answering my prayers, and thank you especially for those that I must pray over and over again as my faith is increased, perfected, and made suitable for your table. My desire Father is to be in your presence always, but sometimes I confuse that with my earthly wants, and in so doing increase the time I must spend on my knees repeating the same painful prayer as you walk me towards the realization of what I am really asking. Holy Father you hear my every word, as you begin a journey with me that is so subtle that I can barely feel the breeze as we walk. Open my eyes to your way, and never let me lose my grip on your hand as we travel. Let my hope remain fixed on you Merciful Father, and by so doing strengthen my faith in reaching the destination you have planned for me. When at last our journey in this prayer reaches its end, and I realize the true nature it has revealed to me, then I pray that you will give me yet another hardship, another prayer, another road to walk with you. I pray that each will bring me closer to the perfection of faith that I desire, and that you take pleasure in it. Lead me on Heavenly Father, and in my walking, and waiting give me patience; give me a faith that you have what I desire waiting for me... just beyond the light that shines before me. When your Son returns, and comes into view, let Him find me faithfully waiting for His arrival. Great are you Father, for in you I am made whole.
Rich Forbes