Neither is He likely to forget your holy longings, your intercession, and your tears. Self-centered prayers will be lost, but such is not true prayer. Nor do prayers prayed from the wrong motivation have any validity before God (James 4:3). [Google image, Man kneeling in prayer]
Intercession for the salvation of others, for the building of Christ's church, for revival among God's people, and for the evangelization of the world all partake of the quality of the eternal.
God's holy will is eternal and such prayers are prayed in harmony with that will, commended by our great High Priest who is the Amen of our prayers (Rev. 3:14), and energized by the hunger, power, and intercession of the Holy Spirit. Such prayers cannot die until they are fulfilled to the measure of God's holy will. All such payers are eternal investments.
Prayer Is an Intensely Personal Investment of Love.
Through prayer you can give your love, your very self to any person, group of people, or nation. Prayer is the only expression of love which cannot be stopped or rejected. Through prayer you can convey love to those who love you as well as to those who do not even know you.
Through prayer you can even surround with love the lives of those who reject you. They may not accept it, but they cannot destroy it. It is all stored up in the treasure house of Heaven and in the memory of God.
I cannot prove this by Scripture, but I believe that prayer for a person who rejects all of God's goodness and grace until death remains as a potential heritage for others of his family, area, or nation.
For example, prayer for a communist leader may be rejected and the leader may eventually die an atheist. But he has not been totally untouched by your prayer or God's grace. God has done His part, and you have done yours. Since the leader represented his nation, in a sense your love for him was a love for the nation.
You will have your reward because you loved him as God loved him. You were Christlike in your intercession. It may be that one day that prayer will be answered in a way that will glorify God far beyond your expectations—perhaps in some national awakening. It is stored in God's reservoir of unanswered prayer for that nation. It is not lost. The next chapter describes this more fully.
My parents were invited to a country schoolhouse to hold weekly Bible study/prayer meetings. Often they spoke to me of the unusual sense of God's presence and blessing they always experienced there.
One day they mentioned this at the schoolhouse. Immediately the people said, "Oh, did you not know that years ago on this very spot there was an old Baptist church?" Is it not possible that after all those years prayer was still being answered for that community?
Prayer Can Build Up an Endowment of Blessing.
Praying parents can intercede for their children and grandchildren until, long after the death of the parents, those prayers still convey wonderful blessings. The godly intercessions of church and mission founders and leaders are answered over the decades. Every true intercessor prays many prayers which will not have their full answer before the prayer warrior joins the church in heaven.
Prayers prayed in the Spirit never die until they accomplish God's intended purpose. His answer may not be what we expected, or when we expected it, but God often provides much more abundantly than we could think or ask.
He interprets our intent and either answers or stores up our prayers (Rev. 8:2-5). Sincere prayers are never lost. Energy, time, love, and longing can be endowments that will never be wasted or go unrewarded.
Jesus Christ continues to endow the church with His intercession. Paul endowed the church with prayer. So did innumerable Old and New Testament saints and leaders. The mighty outpourings of God's Spirit in the Millennium and in the new heaven and the new earth will surely be built upon all those holy intercessions which were not fully answered before.
Do not be discouraged when prayers are not immediately answered. You can endow with God's mercies, with the Holy Spirit's ministries, and with angelic assistance and protection. Pray on and on; prayer is never, never in vain.
Father, thank You that praying is not only a way of communing with You, and receiving help, but it is also an eternal investment for us. It's comforting to know that Your holy angels will keep records of our praying for others and their needs.
Today's Bible verses-
Psalm 82:4 "Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
~ Dave Jenkins- "The passions of the sinful nature are at war with the desires of the regenerate nature (Gal. 5:17). This warfare takes place within the heart, mind, soul, and body of the believer. In this conflict, the Christian is ordered to live by the Spirit rather than to indulge the flesh. |
~ Millions have trusted in Jesus for their eternal destination, and many the world over are turning to Him for their salvation each today. Revivals are harvesting many folks each day now, as there is such turmoil that folks are turning to God for answers and help.
Live Like You Were Dating
- Marriage Mastery Summit--This is a free online event for marriages this coming Saturday. March 27. Mark and I did one of the sessions and we know several of the other speakers. It will be a quality event we can recommend! Jill Savage
Go for it! by
When moving forward here are a few proverbial guardrails to consider…
- CONTEMPLATE w/ prayer: The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. Proverbs 21:5
- COUNSEL w/ God’s Word & trusted others: Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed. Proverbs 15:22
- HEAR from God: The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. Proverbs 16:1
- PLAN: The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. Proverbs 16:9
- COMMIT: Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. Proverbs 16:3
The North Country Christian Fellowship Center Churches,
located in the St. Lawrence county of NY,
broadcast their Sunday services at 10 or 10:15
You can view past services too.
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