Perseverance in Prayer

Four ECC church members -- Rosie, Pat, Eric and Angie -- came over tonight and we had a wonderful time of worship and prayer. These are just four of the many people faithfully praying for me at the moment, and it was a great encouragement.

During our time of prayer, I read out Luke 11:5-8 from the New Living Translation:

"Then, teaching them more about prayer, [Jesus] used this illustration: 'Suppose you went to a friend's house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You would say to him, "A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat." He would call out from his bedroom, "Don't bother me. The door is locked for the night, and we are all in bed. I can't help you this time." But I tell you this -- though he won't do it as a friend, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you what you want so his reputation won't be damaged.'"

Jesus is teaching on the nature of prayer. Rather than saying, "Pray once, and then, if your faith is strong enough, you will get an instant answer," Jesus actually instructs them on the importance of persevering prayer - prayer that will not give up. The illustration he gives is of a man in bed for the night, refusing the request of a neighbour for help at midnight. If the neighbour keeps knocking and refusing to give up, says Jesus, he will eventually get what he asks for. He then goes on, in Luke 11:9-10, to say:

"And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks."

Do you notice the parts I italicised? Prayer is not meant to be a one-time-and-that's-enough exercise. It is a repeating exercise, where we "keep on" pressing through in prayer.

The Lord later gives more instructions on the need for perseverance in prayer in Luke 18:1-8 (again from the New Living Translation):

"One day Jesus told his disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must never give up. 'There was a judge in a certain city,' he said, 'who was a godless man with great contempt for everyone. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, appealing for justice against someone who had harmed her. The judge ignored her for a while, but eventually she wore him out. "I fear neither God nor man," he said to himself, "but this woman is driving me crazy. I'm going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!"' Then the Lord said, 'Learn a lesson from this evil judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end, so don't you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who plead with him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when I, the Son of Man, return, how many will I find who have faith?'"

What an incredible story! Jesus is telling his disciples that even the most godless, selfish and evil man will, out of self-interest, eventually give in so that he can get some peace and quiet. How much more, says Jesus, will our Father in heaven, who is righteous, just and loving, "give justice to his chosen people who plead with him day and night"?

I particularly love the way The Message retells that story. In verses 6-8, we find Jesus saying this:

“Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? So what makes you think God won’t step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won’t he stick up for them? I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?”

In Isaiah 62:6-7, the Lord declares:

"I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth."

The Lord actually invites us to "give [God] no rest" until He does what he has promised to do! This is the nature of persevering prayer. God is faithful, and He has promised to intervene, but in prayer we press through and refuse to rest until His Word has been fully fulfilled.

Why would God require this? It is, I believe, because He is drawing something out from us. Faith is not faith until it is tested, and tested faith produces an inner core of strength, resolution and character that we then take with us into eternity. Persevering prayer brings far more than just the answer to our prayers; it brings a transformation in our lives which, quite literally, changes us forever. This is why we are told to "give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest" until the answer to our prayers come through.

I've recently been reading a book called The Fire of Delayed Answers, by Bob Sorge. He writes on page 18:

"The biblical witness is very clear: God desires to deliver His chosen ones from all affliction. The most notable verse here is Psalm 34:19, 'Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.'...Yes, God delivers us from all affliction, but sometimes he delays His provision in order to try us by fire. The delay itself is a fire ordained by God to produce a deep work in our hearts. God has a desire for our deliverance, but He also has a purpose for the fiery delay. Make no mistake, delayed answers are a fire. When you're in crisis and have His promise of deliverance, but there's no change in sight, then heat can become very hot indeed! His purpose in the delay is to strengthen our faith, kindle our love to new depths of passion and maturity, and impart the heart and character of Christ to us -- all in order to make us a more useful vessel."

I'm presently in the middle of this kind of "fiery delay", but I can give testimony to an important truth -- my experience of God's grace and the depth of my fellowship with Him is so much greater in this time of "fiery delay." I may not have yet received the final healing, but the touch of God's healing grace is already on me, and I'm experiencing that grace each and every day. As Lamentations 3:22-23 says:

"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."