There are times when we pray about something maybe once, perhaps twice, even
three times, and if we don't receive an answer in the affirmative, then we
give up and assume that it must not be God's will. But Jesus taught His
disciples "that they should always pray and not give up4" (Luke 18:1 NIV).
We need to understand that when we pray, a spiritual battle is raging behind
the scenes. In the Book of Daniel, we find an interesting story in which
Daniel offered his request before God and the answer finally came. An angel
appeared to him and said,
"Don't be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for
understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been
heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one
days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then
Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me. . . . " (Daniel 10:12-13
NLT)
It may be that you have asked God for something in your life that He wants
to do. Just because it has not happened yet does not mean that it will never
happen. God's delays are not necessarily His denials.
Clearly, there are some prayers the devil will oppose more than others. For
example, when you pray for someone's salvation, you need to know that it is
a spiritual battle. The last thing the devil wants to do is to release one
of his captives.
In April 2003, U.S. military forces undertook a courageous operation to
rescue Jessica Lynch, a soldier whose unit had been ambushed and captured
during the Iraqi invasion. These soldiers risked their lives to save this
prisoner of war and recover the bodies of eight other American soldiers.
In the same way, the devil has prisoners of war. And the only way people can
be freed from spiritual bondage is when the power of Satan is bound. That is
why, when we pray for a person's salvation, we need to pray that God will
open his or her eyes so they will see their need for Jesus Christ. We can't
give up.
One of the classic stories of persistent prayer is that of the
Syro-Phoenician woman, a non-Jew who came to Jesus and asked Him to touch
her demon-possessed daughter and deliver her. Jesus said, "It is not good to
take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs" (Matthew 15:26).
But instead of taking offense, she replied, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little
dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table" (verse 27).
Jesus was so impressed with her response that He said, "O woman, great is
your faith! Let it be to you as you desire" (verse 28). The Bible says her
daughter was healed from that very hour.
What do we learn from this story? Jesus was not putting up barriers to keep
her away, but to draw her closer-barriers that genuine, persistent faith
could hurdle. Her faith was so great that even a tiny leftover of Jesus'
power, in her estimation, would be enough to deliver her daughter.
Jesus urges us to be persistent in our prayers: "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). If you were to directly translate these
very familiar words of Jesus, it would sound something like this: "Keep
asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. . . . "
Jesus also said, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to
your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good
things to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:11). This reminds us of the
intimacy and fellowship we have with God.
Jesus taught the disciples to pray, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your
name" (Matthew 6:9). When we bring our requests before God, we need to
remember that we are speaking to our Father.
You see, it is His will to give you the things that you need in your life.
Maybe you have been praying about something and there has not been an
answer. Maybe there has been an interruption. Remember this: sometimes, an
interruption is actually the intervention of God. Disappointment can be His
appointment. So don't give up.
Useful link: www.harvest.org/greg/
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