God wants us to come to him in prayer. He wants a close relationship with his children, and the longer we spend with him the closer our relationship will become.
Persevering in Prayer
Luke 18:1-5 (NIV) The Parable of the Persistent Widow
In this parable we see how this widow would not give up! She kept coming back and asking for her plea to be granted, she wanted justice against her adversary and finally wore the judge down. And she was granted what she asked for.
When we have a prayer request we should keep asking. An example is of a friend of mine. She came to know the Lord after she married. Her husband didn’t want to know anything about God and refused to believe in him. She and a friend whose husband didn’t believe, began to meet regularly every week to fast and pray together. Asking that their husbands would come to know Jesus. It took seventeen years before my friend’s husband became a believer in Jesus Christ. And shortly afterward her friend’s husband came to know the Lord.
Those years weren’t easy ones, yet they persisted and wouldn’t give up. If you are praying for someone and feel as though you are getting no where let me encourage you to keep on praying. Be like the persistent widow who refused to go away and kept coming back and wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Waiting for Answer to Prayer.
A friend described prayer as a traffic light.
Red: This is when we are praying.
Yellow: This is when we are waiting for our prayer to be answered.
Green: This is when we have received our answer and we can go forward.
It’s wonderful when we get the green go sign. Not so good when we are in the yellow and having to wait for our answer. This can be so difficult, we want to know now! God is never to late or too early, but always on time with his answers.
Acts 16:22-35 Paul and Silas in Prison
Praying and Worship
Imagine being flogged and then having your feet put in the stocks. This is what Paul and Silas endured. Then having gone through all of this to start singing and praising God. In our lives we have times of testing and trials. When this happens it is a difficult and challenging time, and as the storm rages around us we can feel depressed and start to feel worn down. This is when we need to focus on God and pray our way through the turmoil in our lives. It’s a hard thing to do. Sometimes it makes us feel as though we just want to give up.
1Peter 5:6-10 (NIV)
Verse 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
God cares about every detail in our lives and he wants us to give all of our frustration and pain to him. He wants to hear about what we are going through. He longs for that deeper relationship with us. If we can go to that quiet place and talk with him and listen to what he says to us. He will see us through the storm. At one time I was going through so much hurt and pain that I couldn’t even pray. Then I went to a place in the quiet countryside for a few days. As I sat in my room overlooking the sea I began to see God’s amazing creation and how much beauty he had created. Then slowly his peace washed over me, I knew that even though I couldn’t pray or worship him he knew what I was going through, and he would be with me all the way through it. And he stayed with me all the way through the storm, and he will be there with you. Be encouraged and keep praying God will never leave or forsake us. He is always with us.
Twitter @lorrainehossing Facebook Lorraine Hossington
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