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Persistence is A Prayer’s Best Friend
To go along with the 365 Prayer series, I’m reading several books on prayer. One that I would highly recommend is "Intercessory Prayer” by Dutch Sheets. In the book, Sheets includes passages from another book that tell a story about George Muller, a 19th century, Prussian-born, England-based evangelist and orphanage director who was renowned for his belief in prayer. The following is a quote about Muller’s persistence in prayer:
"The great point is to never give up until the answer comes. I have been praying for sixty-three years and eight months for one man’s conversion. He is not saved yet, but he will be. How can it be otherwise…I am praying.” The story goes on that Muller’s friend did receive Christ, right as Muller’s casket was being lowered into his grave.
Who prays for sixty-three days, much less sixty-three years? How convicting is that story? And how about having your prayers answered, but not living to see them answered? Are we willing to pray that long, that hard, knowing that we might not see it answered?
We all experience times when we pray for a long time, and God doesn’t seem to answer. We pray, and we wait, and we pray and we wait. Discouragement, frustration, and fatigue can set in. What do we do then?
Keep praying. If we believe in the cross of atonement, the power of the Gospel, and that Jesus lives and sits at the right hand of the Father, we should also believe that God hears the prayers of his people and will move into action. It may not be what we wanted to or expected, but He will move.
Oh, AMEN to that, Terrence!
We’re no great prayer warriors but we KNOW what consistent prayer over long periods of time has meant for our children. You just never give up, ever. No matter what they do, you never give up. And if we really love people we can’t give up. God’s eternal. Our prayers should be “unceasing.”
In our instant culture – fast food, microwaves, cell phones – how little we know about patience and perservance. Thanks, Terrance, for reminding us that God’s plans and timing is not ours.
Terrence, loved hearing you relate this story during our last elders’ meeting and loved reading it again! it is interesting to see Henri Nouwen’s literal translation of “pray always” meaning “come to rest.” “The rest which flows from unceasing prayer, needs to be sought at all costs, even when the flesh is itchy, the world alluring and the demons noisy.” Thanks for sharing!