This is an old saying, but oh so true. If you don’t believe me consider the following.
One Christian Internet source states that only 3.5% of the American population is homosexual. Are those involved in this sexual obscenity gaining any ground politically and legally? Do birds fly? Very soon, if not already, they will be more entitled to flaunt their sinful behavior to one and all than those who just desire to follow the law of nature set by God. Now why is that? The squeaky wheel gets the grease. They scream the loudest about their “right” to go against all that is decent.
Loud persistency is a powerful tool.
When a baby cries, what do you want it to do? You want it to stop crying, so you satisfy its need so it will be quiet.
When someone rakes chalk across a blackboard, what do you want them to do? You want them to stop, so you appease them if possible.
An employer will sometimes hire an applicant who keeps returning over and over for the job, just to stop the annoying return trips. (Of course they must be qualified to do the job. That’s a given.)
Have you ever seen a child wear down a parent at the toy store? It wouldn’t have worked with my parents, but today’s parents are different. Many of today’s parents have no spine.
Jesus made a point of persistence in His parable of the widow who sought justice from the judge in her city.
“1And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; 2Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. 4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me [emphasis mine]. (Luke 18:1-5)
Any good our country ever had is being flushed down the toilet by those who are against God’s commandments. Perhaps I’m wrong. Maybe it’s just stopped up, because every defiled imagination of men’s hearts is coming to the surface. It seems that Satan is having a field day at the expense of anything that entails the goodness of God. The ranks of rebellion against God are growing, while the followers of Christ are squeezed in the corner. What can be done?
I see in the above verses of Luke that persistence in prayer is the answer. We need to be the squeaky wheel that gets the grease, if I may be so crude. I mean no disrespect toward the Lord, because He has shown us in these verses to be persistent in our prayers.
What makes me think that we Christians, as a whole, are not being persistent in our prayers? If God’s people were consistently on their knees with a repentant heart, we would all be true evangelists, instead of so many just playing church. Hearts would be changed instead of growing colder toward God.
The inclination to sin is within all mankind, but the power of God is greater. The pull of Satan toward perversity is powerful indeed, but cannot usurp the power of the Holy Spirit.
The most powerful earthly force is nothing that comes from man or even Satan. The greatest power on earth is Christians on their knees toward God. When that earthly power kicks in, the Heavenly power of God takes over, and there is no power greater than God.
What should we pray for? That would actually be an individual choice, but allow me to offer some general considerations.
First of all Jesus has given us a perfect example that cannot be improved upon, and this we should follow.
“9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:9-15)
From here our prayers could go out to those we know who are in need of Jesus Christ in their lives. Their soul comes first, but we would not forget the trials, tribulations, and infirmities that afflict them.
Our country and its leaders are in need of prayer. Will prayer reverse the judgment our country is already under? In my opinion, no it will not, but not because God won’t forgive. It is because we won’t repent as a nation and we have gone past the point of no return (in my opinion). So what good does it do to pray for our country and its leaders? Who knows that maybe some of our leaders will be convicted by the Holy Spirit and turn to Jesus for forgiveness? Again, the most important thing is the soul of the individual.
We all have family and friends who need our prayers, whether for their need to know Jesus Christ or something else.
I really don’t believe that we Christians, as a whole, truly understand the power of prayer. God wants to fulfill our prayers, but of course He wants us to be in tune with His will when praying. He is always listening to us, and persistency does pay off when we are focused on Jesus.
“For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers [emphasis mine]: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.” (1 Peter 3:12)
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much [emphasis mine].” (James 5:16)
I know someone is saying, “I’ve prayed until I’m blue in the face, and it does no good.” How do you know that? Maybe you’re looking for the wrong answer. On the other hand, maybe you’re praying for the wrong thing.
I recall reading where Jesus said when praying, “nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." The entire verse goes like this.
“saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42 (NKJV)
Could it be that when we pray persistently we eventually come to a realization that our prayer is or is not in line with God’s will? For example; maybe we have been praying for some time that God would relieve a burden, when we should be praying for Him to reveal Himself in the burden.
“8Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:8-9)
I don’t know what Paul was praying about, but think about this. If the Apostle Paul had not spent so much time in prison, would we have his letters today? God allowed him to be imprisoned so that he could be used by the Holy Spirit to write most of the New Testament.
Without a doubt, Jesus’ one central theme in His prayer life was “the Father’s will.” I believe that Paul’s central theme in prayer was also “the Father’s will.” When we pray, that should be our focus too. Don’t you think?
Grant Phillips
Pre-Rapture Commentary http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
