To Have
Hope We Must Keep on Praying. That’s called being Persistent.
Why be
persistent?
Let’s
be honest sometimes we ask ourselves the following questions. How come
my answers sometimes don't come immediately? Why should I keep on
asking when God doesn’t seem to be answer?"
Here
are seven things to consider when we must keep on praying:
1.
Keep praying because it will help you focus on God. God
wants you to remember that He alone is the source of your answers to prayer. The
Bible says in Philippians 4:19, "And my God will meet all your
needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."
2. Keep
praying because God wants you to see Him alone as the source of your needs. When
we have to pray about something over and over, who do we look to? We
look to the Lord. Persistent prayer focuses our
attention. Have you discovered that we like to look to everybody
else to solve our problem except the Lord? We look to our
friends, we look to our family, we look to counselors, we look to the
government, we look to anybody -- except the Lord. God often delays an answer
to force you to focus on Him.
3. Keep praying because it clarifies
your requests. A delayed answer a lot of
times gives me time to clarify what I really want (or need). Time separates
deep longings from mere whims.
3. Keep praying because God might
delay the answer to test you. It's
not that He doesn't want to give it to you; He wants to know if you really want
it. Do you want it enough to keep praying? Jeremiah 29:13 "You
will seek me and find me when you seek for me with all your heart." Nothing
worthwhile is accomplished with half-hearted prayers.
4. Keep praying because it will
prepare you for the answer. God usually wants to
do more than you are praying for. Surprise! God wants to do it greater and He
needs time to get you ready for it. There are changes God wants to make in
you. Ephesians 3:20 "Now glory be to God, who by his mighty
power at work within us, is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask
or even dream of infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or
hopes."
5. Keep praying because,
"Prayer changes things." It is
God who does the changing, but prayer changes you. God is more
interested in you than He is in circumstances. Often as soon as you've made the
change in your life the doors of heaven open and the answer
comes. Expect a miracle.
6. Keep praying because it will
strengthen and develop your faith. A mark of maturity
is how long can you wait. Galatians 6:9"Let us not become
weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not
give up." God’s saying, "Hang on! Be
patient! Don't give up! Look up!"
7. Keep praying because God wants to
stay in an ongoing dialogue with you. Rejoice
always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. -1
Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be encourage to take time daily focusing on God,
reading His word and talking to Him. Spend time with God daily to
know Him better.
Be
persistent in your relationship, conversation, and application with God and His
Word. Share His hope with the world around you.
