Persistence in Prayer
Pastor Amy talked about prayer today by comparing the story of Abraham pleading for Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18:16-33 and the story of the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8. In looking at how prayer was used in the 2 stories, we saw these 4 similarities:Persistence
Boldness
Seeking justice and deliverance
God is a Judge
Amy brought up 3 good questions regarding these similarities.
1. What is the purpose of our persistence? Why can't God deliver us now?
When we pray with persistence, we are declaring our faith in God. Because we believe in His mercy and deliverance, we do not give up! Luke 18:8 describes it this way: "However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?"
2. What kinds of prayers do we persist in?
Should we keep praying for a pony? :) Both of the stories today were about persistence in prayer to God the Judge. We should keep praying in and for situations where justice is needed and we should pray that God's justice will prevail.
3. Will God answer these prayers?
Yes, He will because He is merciful, and He does deliver.
Monday addition: What are you persistent in prayer about?
As a parent, of course I am persistent in prayer for my family - that my kids all know God and mature in their faith. I also pray for the patients who come to Pine Rest (where I work) to find Jesus' healing. I think these are both prayers to persist in - for God's goodness and justice to prevail over evil.
Labels: Prayer
posted by Jewels @ 1:26 PM
2 Comments:
I loved the challenge at the end to just shout out names of people for whom we are burdened. The number of people we feel called to reach is overwhelming, but with God's help, we can do more than we can ask or imagine. My prayer is that we all have effective opportunities to interact with those for whom we are praying this week.
Amen, Steve!
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