Pray Until You Win!
by Marilyn Hickey
When you pray for something for a long time and it doesn’t come to pass, it can be discouraging. It can seem that God is hiding from you. David felt that way. In Psalm 55:1, New King James Version, he cried out, “Give ear to my prayer, O God, and do not hide Yourself from my supplication.”
Is God hiding from your prayer? Has He gone fishing? Or, is something else going on? What do you do when it seems God is “hiding”?
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8, NKJV).
The words 'ask, seek and knock' are in a Greek verb tense that indicates continuous action. Prayer must be ongoing. In this verse, Jesus is teaching us how to pray. We must persist in 'asking,' persevere in 'seeking' and continue 'knocking' until we prevail.
Do not stop praying! If you allow yourself to become discouraged and give up, you can miss your answer. If you have already given up praying for something or someone, then repent and start praying again.
According to James 5:16 (NKJV), “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” Your prayers have energy! When you pray 'fervently,' you release the energy of God into a situation.
When God Seems to Hide, Change!
There are times when God delays answering prayer because He is changing you. You may not be able to handle the answer to your prayer until you are different. When you pray for a situation, particularly something that has to do with you, God will deal with you first. Sometimes, God isn’t hiding from our prayers; He’s actually trying to get our attention about something in our lives that He wants to change. Often that change is a process and it may take time. We sometimes think God is slow to answer, but what if He is waiting on you?
24 : BVOV : MAY '14
