05/31/2024
How persistent are we in prayer? Today our message is in regard to praying persistently and not neglecting our desires and those of others as we pray. In my morning reading Pastor E.M. Bounds referred to this as "a mighty move of the soul toward God." Jesus taught persistence in a parable to demonstrate the importance of being dogged in our prayers, and we either call it “The Parable of the Persistent Widow”, or, because it is so basic to praying, we refer to it as “the Parable on Prayer”.
“And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;”
Luke 18:1 KJV
In His parable, Jesus told of a ruler who feared not man nor God, but granted a widow her request because she came to him over and over, and was determined that he grant her vengeance. Jesus said this in regards to his parable...
“And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?”
Luke 18:6-7 KJV
In this parable and its instruction we are encouraged to bring our requests to God in the same manner. We should be relentless in our desire for His aid, and we should be fervent in the manner of our request. The passion we have should only be overshadowed by the godliness and goodness of our desire.
Perhaps the greatest example of persistence in prayer is a verse of scripture that has been prayed repeatedly by the faithful since the time of John on Patmos, and more widely since the canonization of the Holy Bible...
“He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
Revelation 22:20 KJV
These faithful words, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus", are prayed in breath and prayer closets around the world. They are prayed daily by His saints as they look for His return. These words are the persistent prayer of those who suffer, and those who hold onto hope, and wait.
So lives come and go while yet we wait. The fervency with which we pray and the desire for this one event has not diminished since these words were first written, and then prayed for the first time.
Pastor Bounds says that our prayers should demonstrate "the ability to hold on, press on, and wait." He goes on to say this about persistent prayer; "It is not merely routine, but a passion of soul." When we look at our prayers do we see evidence of “a passion of soul” in them? When we desire something in a way that consumes our every thought, and it is within the will of God for us, do we believe that His promise will be kept and our prayer answered? God withholds no good thing from those who love Him, but even so, He might expect our patience.
“For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”
Psalms 84:11 KJV
So as we pray today, let's not neglect those things we need God to address just because we are weary. If we are passionate about our desires and they are good and godly in composition then bring them repeatedly before Him.... Then hold on, and wait. Trust Him in His promises... Trust Him in His word.
The final words in the Bible are these, and they are my prayer for you today.
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”
Revelation 22:21 KJV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for encouraging us to pray persistently as we wait for our prayers to be answered. Thank you Lord for not only our strength and persistence of faith as we pray, but for the passion we have for it. Let us be constantly reminded of Jesus’s parable on this subject, and how His disciples prayed all the while as they waited in the upper room for your Holy Spirit to come. Thank you Holy Father for hearing us pray without ceasing such prayers as "Even so, come Lord Jesus”. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who has inhabited prayer since creation first moaned, and man’s first breath. Great are you who hears us breath in “Yah”, and exhale “Weh” with every breath of life within us. Blessed are you who is loving, merciful, and full of grace. Blessed are you who hears the prayers of His children, and answers. Blessed and worthy are you of all praise and glory forevermore. We pray that you will wash away our sin with the blood of Christ and you do. We pray that you be with us always, and you are. Man prayed for the coming of the messiah and He came. Now we pray for His return, and we know without a doubt He is coming. On that day of our final judgement see Him in us, and deem us to be worthy of spending eternity with you Father. This is our repeated prayer, and our passionate desire.
“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. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?””
Hallelujah! Hallelujah, Hallelujah!
Amen!
Rich Forbes