Dr. Wesley L. Duewel- Prayers prayed in accordance with the will of God are never lost. God preserves them in His own records, and one day they will be answered. He will reward fully all those whose prayer helped win the spiritual battle and opened the door for God's great work in the world.
A dramatic prophecy of how all such unanswered prayer will one be answered is presented symbolically in Revelation 8:1-5. There is silence in heaven for about half an hour, as if all heaven is waiting in breathless anticipation of what is about to happen. (Google image).
An angel approaches with a golden censer—a container in which incense is burned.
"He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake" (Re. 8:3-5).
Do you understand this picture? The fragrant incense typifies the intercessions of Christ who is seated at the right hand of the Father, where He constantly intercedes (Rom. 8:34). His fragrant intercession is added to the prayers of God's children for God's kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth.
Fire from the altar, symbolic of the mighty power of the Holy Spirit, is added to the combined prayers of Jesus and His saints, and all is poured down upon the earth.
Immediately there follow the seven trumpets as outlined in the subsequent chapters of Revelation. These awesome demonstrations of God's power work dramatically to speed the accomplishment of God's will on earth and the total defeat of Satan.
What prayers were these preserved in heaven? The prayers which can never be lost. Many saints have much prayer of that kind stored in the treasuries of heaven. Have you?
When we know we are praying according to God's will, our faith is greatly strengthened. Daniel reported that when he learned the length of time Israel would be in captivity, and realized that the time for the return of the Jews to Jerusalem was nearing, he sought God's face with tremendous urgency:
"So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes" (Dan. 9:3).
Daniel then outlined for us his intercessory identification with his people. (Read Dan. 9:4-23.) So powerful was this prayer that God sent the archangel Gabriel to deliver his answer in person. Though Daniel did not live to see his request granted, it was fully granted shortly after his death. Daniel's prayer did not die; it could not be lost, for it was prayed in accordance with the will of God.
"Always" Prayers
There are some prayers that we may be sure are always in the will of God. One of the most powerful prayers to pray is the one Jesus taught us: "Your will be done." It is always appropriate to pray those words, even though we often do not know how to pray specifically about a given situation. I have found in militant prayer warfare that these words are a powerful weapon in defeating Satan.
"Bless." While this is a very general prayer, it can be both deep and emphatic. It expresses the heart of God who longs to bless everyone. Needs may vary, but some form of blessing is the answer to every need.
Rev. Harry Woods, One Mission Society China Director, stayed in Peking for some time after the communist takeover in order to identify with the Chinese church. The time came, however, when he felt his presence was becoming an embarrassment to them. When he asked for an exit permit, he was interrogated by the Chinese police who seemed reluctant to let him go.
Rev. Woods said, "I love China. I pray for China every day. I pray for Chairman Mao every day." "What do you pray?" they shot back. "I pray God to bless him, and to give him wisdom to rule this great nation," replied the minister. Rev. Woods was permitted to leave.
There are other "always" prayers, such as: "Lord, undertake." "Lord reveal Yourself to them.' "Lord, may Your Spirit be outpoured." "Come quickly, Lord Jesus." According to the Scriptures, a number of prayers are always in God's will.
"Lord, there are some parts of my story that still ache, and perhaps that ache will never go away completely. However, I know that you can use every tear to water the seeds of hope in someone else’s life. I release my pain to You and wait openhanded for Your purpose on how to use my story to help someone else.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen."
~ Maybe we need to take a new look at what God did. He forsook His Son while on the cross, where He died in our stead; for He was loaded down with our sins. As a holy God, the Father had to look away as Christ took on our sins. After Jesus died, the
Today's guest post:
The Painful Process of Pruning
Kay Ellis
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.
Thank you for sharing
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