“So what makes you think God won’t step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won’t he stick up for them? I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?” — Luke 18:7-8 (Message)
Have you ever prayed with your fingers crossed behind your back? Now come on—we all have at times. It’s because we’re just not sure that God will answer our particular prayer the way we want Him to. Now do you suppose that’s the problem? We know that God answers prayer because He tells us over and over that He does. So why don’t we let Him answer in the way He wants? Then we can in confidence accept His answer and rejoice in it simply because we know we have received His perfect answer.
Maybe these words from the past from a little known monk named Jonas might help us in this respect. From the 7th Century Life of St. Columban he writes, “And not undeservedly has the merciful Lord granted the prayers of His saints, who on account of His commands have crucified their own wills, and who have so great faith that they do not doubt they will obtain what they demand from His mercy.” Did you get that? They crucified their own wills in order to get rid of all doubt. In other words they prayed with persistence until God answered. Jesus prayed that way. Remember his cry out to God for deliverance when he concluded, “not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42)? He was satisfied with His Father’s perfect will.
Why did Jesus tells us to pray and to continue to cry out for help?
· Not because God is hard of hearing.
· Not because God needs to be pestered into answering our requests.
· Not because God doesn’t want to answer us.
NO… Jesus taught us to always pray and not give up because, when we pray, our prayers carry weight. Every time you and I pray we unleash more and more power from the throne of God.
· Are you praying for someone in your family to become a Christian? Every prayer you pray puts more and more pressure on that person to listen to God.
· Do you pray for your friends in their daily struggles Every prayer you pray imparts to them more and more power from God.
· Do you have difficulties with someone at work or have been deeply offended? Every prayer you lift up in their behalf to God’s throne brings God’s power to bear on them—and you.
Tonight we are going to pray for a friend who has cancer. Tomorrow we will pray again … and the next day we will pray again because God has told us “to continue to cry out for help.” Prayer is not a passive act on our part. Prayer is an aggressive, active ministry. We are putting our shoulders to the wheel and moving the forces of heaven.¹
