The other day, we had just beautiful weather, there was not a breeze to be found. The cold spell which had came with gusty winds the day before had calmed down to make for a perfect day, so I decided to take advantage of it and get some errands done and visit family.As I was backing down the drive, I looked in the rear view mirror and viewed a heavy shower of leaves, falling to the ground. Then the words "Abundance of Blessings" came and my inner being was filled with "Joy". As I finished backing up and coming to a stop, facing another direction, I heard a noisy chatter, which came from the same tree and more leaves fell. Then the thought came, "Prayer is like this, you have to speak and make it happen". No doubt in my mind that the Holy Spirit was speaking to me. Immediately my thoughts went to the moments in time when God had answered my prayers and I thanked Him for being faithful and true to His promises in His Word. God has answered so many of my prayers, quickly and then others I have had to be diligent in praying.
While visiting my older daughter, we had a discussion about the power of speaking the prayer out loud, speaking it into existence, and backing it up with scripture. I shared with her the scripture I had just read in Luke 18:1-8 and how reading it this time brought more light on persisting in prayer and not giving up. She shared how the Holy Spirit had also been strengthening her prayer life and showing her to be persistent in prayer for our loved ones who don't know the Lord.
1-3 Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit. He said, "There was once a judge in some city who never gave God a thought and cared nothing for people. A widow in that city kept after him: 'My rights are being violated. Protect me!'
4-5 "He never gave her the time of day. But after this went on and on he said to himself, 'I care nothing what God thinks, even less what people think. But because this widow won't quit badgering me, I'd better do something and see that she gets justice—otherwise I'm going to end up beaten black-and-blue by her pounding.'"
6-8 Then the Master said, "Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? 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?"
18:1 Prayer encourages steadfastness and guards against disheartedness during the delay of Christ's return.
18:2-8 The parable is a story using contrast rather than comparison. The readiness of God to effect justice lies in contrast to the reluctance of the judge who only dispenses justice out of exasperation with the nuisance of the widow's persistence. The point of contrast is in the fact of God's willingness and readiness; further, we are not widows but members of Christ's own body-His bride. Therefore, we can expect the Just Judge, the Father, to bring us redress (act of making right) from wrong when we pray.
18:8 Christians are not to grow weary in waiting for the Lord, but they are to persevere in faith.
Prayer also means your action at some point, so as you pray, be alert and be prepared to take the necessary action as your part in fulfilling your requests.
who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing
in the heavenly places in Christ,"
Ephesians 1:3
In heaven Christ lives to pray. His whole communion with His Father is prayer: an asking and receiving of the fullness of the Spirit for His people. God delights in nothing so much as in prayer. Will we not learn to believe that the highest blessings of heaven will be unfolded to us as we pray more? ~Andrew Murray~
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