Pray Persistently
When Jesus' disciples came and said: "Lord, teach us to pray," He instructed them by giving them the basic outline of prayer we call the "Lord's Prayer." We should study and follow this approach.
But He continued His teaching with an example of how we must keep on praying and not give up if our prayers don't seem to be answered right away. He gave, as an analogy for prayer, a virtual pounding on the door of a friend until he does answer. Then Christ said: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Luke 11:9).
Sometimes you do need to keep knocking, so to speak, and let God know that you deeply desire whatever you ask Him; that you are willing to wait patiently for the answer; that you are willing to repent of any sin, right any wrong, overcome any problem, in order to be worthy of His answer to your prayer.
Sometimes you do need to keep knocking, so to speak,
and let God know that you deeply desire whatever you ask Him;
that you are willing to wait patiently for the answer;
that you are willing to repent of any sin, right any wrong,
overcome any problem, in order to be found worthy of His answer to your prayer.
What if (and he almost has!) my fifteen-year-old son asks me: "Dad, please help me get an imported sports car." What will my answer be?
"Wait!" That will be my answer.
I'll think to myself, "He's not old enough. He doesn't have much driving experience, and there are all kinds of lessons I'd like to see him learn before he has a fast sports car. And besides, the car will mean a lot more to him, and he'll take better care of it and be more responsible if it doesn't come too easily."
Do you see the analogy?
God is supremely intelligent, loving, protective and logical. He wants us to prepare for some things before we receive them. As our Father, He wants us to learn certain lessons and overcome certain sins or weaknesses before He will answer some of our prayers!
So as you pray to God, talk to Him about these things. Reason with Him as Abraham did in Genesis 18:23-33. Ask Him to show you if there is any lesson you need to learn before He will answer your prayer. And unless you find you are "asking amiss" (James 4:3) — asking for something you shouldn't have keep on praying to God until the answer comes.
Fervency
Keep on praying — but in what way? With a tired, monotonous, routine approach? With a careless "let's-see-if-it-works-this-time" approach?
A thousand times No!
Remember James 5:16: "The effectual FERVENT prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Realize that you are coming to plead your case before the Supreme Governor of the universe, the Lord and Giver of life. Put your heart, your mind and your being into an alert, profound, and heartfelt communion with your Creator. For our good, God wants us to serve and reverence Him in this way. The Moffatt translation makes plain God's concern about Israel's halfhearted prayers: "Though it was I who redeemed them, they have lied to me; they never put their heart into their prayers" (Hosea 7:13, 14).
Even Jesus Himself, preparing for a slow and torturous death, poured His very being into His final hours of prayer to God: "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground" (Luke 22:44). No doubt this is where the expression "to sweat blood" comes from.
In our jaded and sophisticated society where many want to act cool and noncommittal, we need to be reminded of the personal examples of Jesus and of King David of Israel (see Psalm 69:1-3) and how they cried from the heart and poured deep emotion and feeling into their prayers!
If Your Need Is Forgiveness
Jesus said: "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matt. 6:14-15).
We must sincerely and completely forgive others. We must not hold grudges or harbor animosity. Otherwise, there is no way our prayer for forgiveness — or indeed any other prayer — will be heard. But, if we forgive others, and "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9).
Prayer, along with meditation, is a good time for self-examination to determine whether you truly have repented yourself and completely forgiven others. But you can't "fake it." And even here, you've got to ask God for help and humility.
Make Prayer a Habit
Many articles have been written on the amazing power which habits have over our lives. They describe how building proper thought patterns and daily habits — even in little things — often spells the difference between success or mediocrity in many areas of our lives.
In no area of life is this more important than in the spiritual area of regular Bible study, meditation and personal prayer to God.
God puts examples in the Bible for a reason. Let's notice.
The prophet Daniel, in danger of losing his life if he prayed, nevertheless followed his daily habit — the pattern of life which made him one of the most honored and powerful servants of God in history. "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed [forbidding asking anything from anyone but the king], he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime" (Dan. 6:10).
Note the statement ". . . as he did aforetime." It was Daniel's habit to pray on his knees before God three times a day.
Notice also the example of King David when he was in great distress: "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice" (Ps. 55:17). David was all man. He was a mighty warrior, an excellent musician and composer, and an inspired leader. But he was often in trouble. Hence his "supplications" (Ps. 55: 1, for example) — the word means repeated prayer on the same subject. He had to pour out his heart and ask repeatedly for mercy, strength, guidance and deliverance. The result?
You cannot read through the inspired psalms of David without realizing that he was a man who lived in close and continual contact with his God. He was vitally alive and lived one of the most exciting, romantic and yet meaningful lives in the history of the human race! His constant and even passionate communion with God certainly added depth and breadth to his magnificent life and character.
Remember James 5:16: "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
Realize that you are coming to plead your case before the Supreme Governor of the universe,
the Lord and Giver of life.
Put your heart, your mind and your being into an alert, profound,
and heartfelt communion with your Creator.
Reading David's psalms, you note the obvious fact that David was not only just praying on his knees. He was constantly talking to God, relating all things to God — the very center of his existence. He was, as we say, in an "attitude of prayer" many times throughout each day.
So should we be.
Do we greet each morning's sunrise with a quiet "Thank you," Father" as we first look out the window? Do we bow our head in thanksgiving over any of our private breakfast, lunch and dinner meals teaching our children by this and other acts that God is our Creator and the Giver of every good gift?
Do we ask God's protection as our children leave for school, as our car leaves the driveway, as our plane taxis out for takeoff? Do we ask our Father and Friend for wisdom and guidance, for patience and mercy, for strength and love, as we face various challenges through each day of our lives? We should for this, too, is the meaning of prayer, and of learning to "walk with God" as did great men of old like Enoch, Noah and Abraham.
Often Jesus rose up early in the morning — "a great while before day" — and went to a private place to pray (Mark 1:35). He wanted to reestablish that close contact with God early in the day.
So should we.
At other times, times of unusual stress, or before making a big decision such as choosing His twelve apostles, Jesus would pray long and hard through part or even all of the night — reasoning and pleading with His Father for help, wisdom and guidance on the problems and decisions of the morrow (Luke 6:12-13).
It was the HABIT of our Savior who is our perfect example to pray to God continually and with His whole heart! So when it came His time to die, the most obvious and natural thing He could and did do was to drop to His knees, lift up His heart and hands to the Almighty one with whom He had shared eternity, and pray. With perspiration pouring off His body and with tears streaming down His cheeks (Hebrews 5:7), He begged God for the strength and love to become the perfect sacrifice which He, and He alone, could be.
Then, finally, when He knew He had the Father's answer, He returned to find His disciples sleeping — seemingly unaware of the momentous events which were about to occur. "[He] said unto them, Why sleep ye? Rise and PRAY, lest ye enter into temptation" (Luke 22:46).
In this age of potential world annihilation, we, too, had better learn to do just that. We need to make the habit of constant and fervent prayer to God as much a part of our lives as breathing. For, as with the air we breathe, the quality and ultimate length of our lives directly depend upon it.