Bible Reading: Luke 18
Luke 18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
How many times should you pray for something? Some say you should pray once and then have faith that God will answer. Jesus said we should be like this widow. We should pray and keep on praying. We should cry out to God and continue to cry out to him.
Do you give up easily on prayer? Do you pray and then look for immediate results? If you don’t see immediate results do you determine that God has said, “No,” or that you are just not holy enough for God to answer your prayer? But this is the reason for Jesus’ parable:
Luke 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.
Jesus says we should always pray and not faint. In other words, don’t give up! God can and does say no to some of our prayers. That is what Paul experienced.
2 Corinthians 12:8-9 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
At other times, men pray and the timing is not right. Then we must keep on praying!
1 Kings 18:43-44 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.
Seven times Elijah sent his servant to look for answer to his prayer. He did not stop, but kept on praying until the answer came!
James 5:16b-18 The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
Elijah was a man who was subject to the same things we struggle with. If God answered his fervent prayer, God will answer yours! Let’s pray like this widow. Let’s pray like Elijah!
In Christ,
Rody
