Persistent Prayer

I've been accused of many things, but one my favorites is being accused of having a spirit of importunity.

Importunity: the state or quality of being importunate

Importunate: 1. urgent or persistent in solicitation, sometimes annoyingly so.

                      2. pertinacious, as solicitations or demands.

                      3. troublesome; annoying:

Yeah, well I can live with that. When I think of "importunity" I think of the parable in Luke 18.

 ¹ Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ² He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

   ⁴ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’”

 ⁶ And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”                 Luke 18:1-7 NIV

This woman was importunate. She needed retribution and she unashamedly asked the judge until she received it. The judge gave her what she asked, not because he was being fair but because the woman was getting on his nerves.

Jesus told the parable to show that if the judge who did not care about anyone, including God, would give the woman what she requested, how much more will God answer those who pray to Him persistently? And God will respond quickly. Jesus' point: " to show them that they should always pray and not give up"

God is going to answer. Don't give up. He is a good father. If someone who doesn't care about you will respond when you are relentless, God who loves you will respond even more when you are persistent.

We'll talk later (probably tomorrow) about why you may have to ask God for something more than once.

Pray with me (out loud):

God, You are a just and fair God. You are not like the judge in the parable. You care about me and You will answer when I cry out to you day and night. There are some things that I want in life so I will cry out to you for those things without giving up. I am learning what would happen if I prayed. I believe that if I call on you day and night about something that I need, you are going to answer. So please help me to learn persistence in my prayer life. I believe that if I pray persistently and not give up, just as Jesus said, You are going to respond. Thank you for your response. Thank You that I can come to You by the precious name of Jesus. Amen.

Straight from the Word Part 2

I love being able to pray scriptures. When we do, we have no doubt that what we're praying God's will and we are confident that He'll answer.

¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, ¹⁶ that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— ¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
²⁰ Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, ²¹ to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21 NKJV

The apostle Paul explains to the church at Ephesus that he has been called by God to preach to them. The Christians in Ephesus were worried about Paul because he was in prison for preaching the gospel. So the prisoner here is writing and praying that God would strengthen these brothers and sisters of his who were worried about him.

What a loving and accurate way to praise God at the end of the prayer.

Again, the New Living Translation is less formal:

¹⁴ When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, ¹⁵ the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. ¹⁶ I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. ¹⁷ Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. ¹⁸ And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. ¹⁹ May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

 ²⁰ Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. ²¹ Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT

With a few tweaks, this prayer is ours. We can pray it for ourselves and for others.

Pray with me:

I bow my knees to You, the Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that You would grant me, according to the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened with might through Your Spirit in my inner man, that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith; that I, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that I may be filled with all the fullness of God.  Now to You, the one who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that I ask or think, according to the power that works in me, to You be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

And using the New Living Translation as our model:

I fall to my knees and pray to You, the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.  I pray that from Your glorious, unlimited resources You will empower me with inner strength through Your Spirit.  Then Christ will make his home in my heart as I trust in him. My roots will grow down into Your love and keep me strong.  And may I have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep Your love is.  May I experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then I will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from You, my God. Now all glory to You, God who is able, through Your mighty power at work within me, to accomplish infinitely more than I might ask or think.  Glory to You in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

Straight from the Word

Have you ever prayed, as I have I, and wondered if God heard You? Wouldn't you love, as I would, to have a guarantee that He will respond positively toward your request?

1 John 5:14-15 tells us:

¹⁴This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. NLT

Sounds like a guarantee to me.

Yesterday we talked about approaching God with thanksgiving and praise. But these verses give us another approach. Now that we've entered His presence, we know that we can approach Him confidently when we ask anything according to His will. And He will answer that prayer.

How do we know what the will of God is? His Word is His will. So if I have something in His Word that He says He wants for His people, I know that the something is His will and I can ask for it in prayer confidently.

Well, this one is a no-brainer: What would happen if we prayed a prayer straight from the Bible? We know it's His will and we have confidence that He will answer it.

There are a few prayers in the Bible that are prayed for God's people in general. Let's pick one of those. In the book of Colossians, Paul the apostle of Jesus Christ writes to the people at the church in the city of Colosse. In his letter his says that he thanks God for them. He says he heard about "your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all of God's people." He then says that since he heard, he's been praying for them and he tells them what he prays.

⁹ For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; ¹⁰ that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; ¹¹ strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; ¹² giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. ¹³ He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.                  Colossians 1:9-14 NKJV

The NLT says it a little less formally.

⁹ So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. ¹⁰ Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

 ¹¹ We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, ¹² always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. ¹³ For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, ¹⁴ who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.      Colossians 1:9-14 NLT

There it is—a prayer straight from the Word that can be prayed for any of God's people. What a beautiful prayer. We have confidence that because this is His Word, it is His will and He will answer. I pray this one regularly for my family. I'm in the habit of praying the NKJV. I say ". . .  I pray that I and (list of family members) may be filled … " We can pray this prayer for others and for ourselves with a few minor tweaks.

Pray with me:

Father, I do not cease to pray that I may be filled with the knowledge of Your will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that I may walk worthy of You Lord, fully pleasing You, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to Your glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to You, Father, who have qualified me to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in the light. You have delivered me from the power of darkness and conveyed me into the kingdom of the Son of Your love, in whom I have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

And all of the less formal people pray with me:

Father, I will not stop praying that You will give me complete knowledge of Your will and give me spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way I live will always honor and please You, Lord and my life will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, I will grow as I learn to know You better and better.

    I also pray that I will be strengthened with all Your glorious power so I will have all the endurance and patience I need. May I be filled with joy, always thanking You Father. You have enabled me to share in the inheritance that belongs to Your people, who live in the light. For You have rescued me from the kingdom of darkness and transferred me into the Kingdom of Your dear Son, who purchased my freedom and forgave my sins.

How to Approach God

Several years ago I taught children's church for the three to five year olds. We had lessons on how to go to God when we pray. The little ones loved to act out the lessons and it was a practical way for them to learn.

I began by telling them that we don't barge in on God when we pray. "God I need an answer right now." How rude is that? Instead we of course used scripture as our guide.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. Psalm 100:4 NKJV

The children learned the verse. I set it to a tune and we would sing it. Then we would dramatize the scripture. We imagined approaching God as a King, which He is. In order to come before His throne from the outside, we had to enter the gates into the garden and then into His courts. The key to getting inside the gates is giving Him thanks. And then we'd praise Him to move closer to Him.

To illustrate the point, two children would stand side-by-side and grasp one of each others' hands—they were the gate. Then I would always try to barge through the gate. I would say things like, "God I have to talk to you." And I'd walk up to the tightly clasped little hands and not get through. Or I might say, "God I need something from You." Again, I would have no success entering the gates. It was like playing the game red rover and trying to break through the opposing team, but instead of using force I had to use the right words. And I never did. So then it was their turn to show me how to do it.

They would walk up to the "gate" and use their "praise words." They would say things like, "thank You, Jesus" and I love You Lord." Viola, the gates would open.

Before we would attempt entering the gates, we would take turns naming praise words: Hallelujah; God, You are good; bless Your name, Lord; You are awesome God; Praise You, Lord, etc.

Verse 2 of Psalm 100 says, "Come before His presence with singing." It's all about the attitude. God is interested in the attitudes of our hearts. As we approach Him, we need to be focused on Him. It's not just important that we pray, but how we approach God when we pray and our attitude when we pray matters to God.

Proof:

These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Matthew 15:8 NIV

God wants our hearts, not just our words. He wants our attention.  Giving God thanks and praise before we ask for anything helps us to enter His presence. When we start thanking Him and thinking of His goodness, our focus changes from us to Him. Our faith rises as we begin to thank Him for all He's done and praise Him for who He is.

In chapter two of R.A. Torrey's book How to Pray, he explains

If, then, we would pray aright, the first thing that we should do is to see to it that we really get an audience with God, that we really get into His very presence. Before a word of petition is offered, we should have the definite and vivid consciousness that we are talking to God, and should believe that He is listening to our petition and is going to grant the thing that we ask of Him. This is only possible by the Holy Spirit's power . . .

Before we knelt to pray, I said something like the above, telling all the friends to be sure before they prayed, and while they were praying, that they really were in God's presence, that they had the thought of Him definitely in mind, and to be more taken up with Him than with their petition.

Pray with me:

Father, thank You, thank You, thank You for all You do. Thank You for ______________ (fill in the blank). You are the great King. You are Creator. You are Sovereign. You have everything in Your control. You are God of the universe and at the same time, You're my Father. You have time to listen to me. I bless Your name because not only are You great, but Your name is great. I praise You with all that is in me because You are worthy of praise. Blessings and riches and glory and honor to my God. Hallelujah to You almighty God. You are all-powerful and all-knowing. All the earth shall praise You, Lord. Heaven and earth are filled with Your glory. I lift Your name and respect Your name above everyone else. No one can compare with You. Thank you that according to Your Word, when I draw near to You, You draw near to me. Thank You that through these 40 days of prayer, You and I are growing closer to one another. 

Continue to pray from there.

Faith to Pray

We're 13 days into our 40-day quest to answer the challenge "What would happen if you prayed?" We are daily reading the scripture booklet entitled Faith to Pray. (Let me know if you would like one, whoever and wherever you are.) And we're praying.

 

The scripture booklet contains about 30 scriptures on the subject of prayer. The Bible says:

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17 NKJV            

So we are reading the entire booklet daily. It takes less than 10 minutes. We're building our faith and confidence that God will answer our prayers. We are planting the seed of the Word of God in our hearts. We expect a harvest of a life of prayer. Then after we read the scriptures, we are praying. We are putting our faith into action.

I am hearing from my friends who committed to take the challenge with me. God is answering prayer. God is touching our hearts and making us more excited about prayer.

I enjoy the convenience of technology and I've been accused of being a geek. To that end, I am posting Faith to Pray as a PDF. Please feel free to download, enjoy, and share.

Pray with me:

Father God, You are all-powerful and all-knowing. You are the One who answers our prayers. We have no excuse to live a prayerless life. You have freely given us Your Word. You have given us so many promises. The Bible says that "God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?" (Numbers 23:19 NLT) The answer is NO. You always do what You promise. Thank You that when I read Your Word about prayer, faith to pray is growing in my heart. I am learning how to pray as I never have before. And then You are answering my prayers. Help me to bless others by praying for and with them. Then we can see Your kingdom come and Your will being accomplished on earth as it is in heaven. I praise You that all of this is accomplish in Jesus' name. So be it.

One-Minute Prayers

I was touched when a friend shared with me that she had done the one-minute prayer thing at least once today. I'm not sure how many times. She mentioned how it was good to take a mental break to focus on something positive each hour.

That is so true. I usually pray for longer than a minute. The point of the one-minute prayer is to thank God for each hour and in each hour—to stop all of the busyness for 60 seconds to talk to the Father. When things are going on all around you that you may or may not like or may or may not agree with, a little chat with a great, big God puts life into perspective. As I like to say, "In the grand scheme of things, who cares?" I don't say that in an apathetic way. I say it in a let's-get-things-in-proper-perspective way. Work is important. God, family, and friends are more important. Sometimes work is stressful and overwhelming, but we can take a minute to talk to the Prince of Peace.

Taking a minute to pray interrupts work or whatever else is going on to acknowledge our Creator, our heavenly Father. It's like singing with Stevie Wonder, "I just called to say I love you."

Taking one minute to pray opens the door and invites the One who is like no other into your situation. You're taking a minute to draw near to the Father.

He promises in His word,

Come near to God and he will come near to you. James 4:8a NIV

The Word also says,

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him sincerely and in truth. Psalms 145:18 AMP

Pray with me:

Father, thank You for teaching us how to take a minute to let You into our day through prayer. Sometimes I am so busy with the cares of the world, that I forget about what's most important to me. But when I call upon You in truth and with sincerity of my heart by the name of Jesus and acknowledging who He is, You promise to be near me. When You are near, I can put my day into the proper perspective. Help me to sense Your nearness. Help me to sense Your peace.

One way that I can acknowledge You is with thanksgiving and praise. So thank You for this day. Thank You for my life. Thank You for people who love me. You're the one who loves me most. In the Bible, You tell Your people, "I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (from Jeremiah 29:11 NIV). You not only had plans for those people, but You have plans for all of Your people, including me. I can relax and trust You with my life because Your plans for me are good. And You are good. I just wanted to take a minute to interrupt this hour to acknowledge that You are good. Thank You for being near me. I just wanted to say, "I love You" and I mean it from the bottom of my heart. Amen.

You just prayed for one minute.

One-Minute Victories

Today I tried the one-minute prayers at work. I wrote "one minute" at the beginning of each hour, from 8 am to 5 pm, on the calendar on the laptop. I made it repeat every Monday through Friday. Then I added an unobtrusive alarm sound that only lasted about one second.

On the hour, I hear the sound of a glasses clinking as if someone has just proposed a toast. At that point, I reset my timer on the iPad for one minute. I pray until the timer sounds. Isn't technology wonderful?

It was great. At 8:00 this morning, I was still at home, so I prayed the one minute at home. I thought about what I could pray about for one minute. I decided that I would pray for my friends who are joining me in this What Would Happen If You Prayed 40-day challenge. Each of you who asked for a prayer scripture booklet received one minute of prayer this morning. :-) For some of you, I prayed for more than a minute. HAHAHA. And TWIMC: yes, you do need to be prayed for. :-) We all do.

It was fun praying in that way. It was difficult to finish praying in one minute though. At work I was a little distracted by . . .  you know . . . work. It's not easy to type and pray. On some hours, I had to start over a few times.

I thank God for showing me simple ways to do things. It sounds complicated by the time I set the calendar here and the timer there, but it works for me. I pray anyway throughout the day, but it was nice to take a break on purpose to acknowledge God and to thank Him for all that He's doing in our lives.

I am working on my goal of creating a culture of prayer in my life so I can fulfill:

Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Colossians 4:2 NLT

Lord God, thank You for giving me wisdom and a strategy to help me remember to stop and praise You throughout the busy day. Thank You for my friends who are praying with me and reading the Word with me. Did I mention to You that I am truly thankful for my friends? You've given me some of the best friends ever. I don't feel like I deserve them, but You've been gracious to me because You know what and who I need in my life. They all add something precious to me; I want to do the same for them. You're a wonderfully awesome Father. Please bless my friends. Help them to draw closer to You and to know You better. Show Yourself strong and loving to each one of them. Bless them with good health, peace, joy, and prosperity. I know this is Your will for them so I am confident that You will answer in Jesus' name. So be it!