Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Easy Doesn't Do It: Prayer Note #89




 Dutch Sheets tells us in his book, Intercessory Prayer:  “The very Son of God spent many entire nights praying in order to fulfill His ministry.

It took Him three arduous hours in Gethsemane to find strength to face the Cross. “He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears” (Heb. 5:7).

   Anyone long associated with the Church of this century, especially in America, knows that our problems do not result from lack of information or material strength. If we fail in achieving what God asks from us as we run our race, it will be a failure of heart and spirit. 

   Like the frog, I have kicked and swum my way over time to more victories than I have accomplished quickly and easily. I have fought until my hand clove to the sword. I have found that a tenacious endurance is often the key to victory in prayer. 

   But WHY? 

   Why is persistence required in prayer? This I have labored about for years. Does God have a certain amount of prayers required for certain situations? Do we talk Him into things? Does God ever ’finally decide’ to do something? Do we earn answers through hard work or perseverance? 

   The answer to all these questions is no. 

   Is God using the waiting period to teach us? I think at times this is certainly the case, and yet, if this is the reason for a delay, we shouldn’t need to pray for the same thing again and again. Once and then a waiting in faith would be adequate. 

   In other situations the delay might be that God has the right time for an answer to prayer. “And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary” (Gal. 6:9). But, again, if this is the reason, asking once and waiting in faith should b sufficient. 

   So why is a persistence or perseverance necessary in prayer?... [Dutch gives his answers in the next post on the 15th.]


Prayer Note #89 - Easy Doesn’t Do It in Prayer, taken from Dutch Sheets’ book, Intercessory Prayer (198, 199). 

[Image added] 

The next Prayer Note on Nov. 15th, His Throne in Our Hearts: Prayer Note #90

"Father, may we come to understand that praying is what You actually need us to participate in, to accomplish Your will here on earth. As we pary "Your will be done", help us to realize that our praying is of utmost importance in Your will being accomplised.)



Tomorrow’s post: Just Passing Through  Mary Southerland  Mary Southerland shared with us,  "I was flipping through television channels in a futile attempt to find something worth watching..."
Today’s treasure truth #34: If you are “born again”, you are every thought into captivity. (2 Cor. 10:5)
Our thought for today: The victory is to keep doing what God's told you to do.


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