Don’t Stop Praying & Believing!
We’ve recently been reading through the book of Judges as a church and there was one small instance where I found a mother who thinks like me, and many of us. In chapter 5, Deborah sings of God’s might and the victory he brought to Israel. In verse 28 she mentions the mother of the defeated King Sisera. This poor mother is waiting for the safe return of her son and asks, “Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the wheels of his chariot?”
Reading this made me immediately think of the things I still tell my 25+ yr. old kids. “Let me know when you get home.” “ Text me when you get there,” etc. I remember as a teenager (pre-cell phone days) that my mom would ask us to hang a white t-shirt on her doorknob so that if she would wake in the middle of the night, she would see it and know we were home. I’ve often gotten out of bed to go look in my kids rooms and make sure they had made it home safely. Other nights I had more faith and stayed in bed!
There is a deep concern for our loved ones, friends and family, that never leaves us. This burden can only be carried with constant intercession before the throne of God, laying it at His feet. This concern must not become a weight to our spiritual well-being, but a responsibility to intercede; to pray without ceasing!
I want to encourage you today to continue standing in the gap for your family, your friends, those that the Lord puts on your heart. Their trials can be overwhelming. Situations can seem hopeless. This life is hard! They could be turning to the world for help and direction. They could be running from the Lord. Maybe they are battling sickness. Perhaps there’s a life-changing decision before them. Sometimes it can be discouraging when we look at the circumstances or the mountain that is in the way. In Matthew 21: 21 -22, Jesus instructs his disciples in the faith that will move mountains! Believing prayer! Prayer to God is an expression of our faith in Him. When we go to him with our petitions we are testifying of our faith in His power and willingness to hear and answer!
In Psalm 3, David expresses his faith in God to answer amid the contradictions of his enemies. He prayed believing that his help came from the Lord and that the Lord would hear him.
Believer, we have the promise of God to hold on to. We can go boldly before His throne by the blood of Jesus and receive grace and mercy in our time of need. In Acts, chapter 10, we find Cornelius, a roman soldier, faithful in prayer. God hears and remembers his prayers! How much more will he hear and remember those of us who come to Him through His Son! Remember also that we have the Holy Spirit to help us in praying and our faithful High Priest, Jesus Christ, at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us.
I’m not talking about a sentence thrown up to God when it occurs to me. I’ve done this before. But I’m talking about a burning in our hearts that will not ease up until it has touched the throne. Praying over them while they sleep at night. Finding a quiet place where I can pour out my heart for my loved ones. Praying God’s Word in faith to defeat the enemy. “This is how I fight my battles!”
When I’ve been pressed in intercession this way, I’ve seen the deliverance and the work of God in the lives of my loved ones! It’s believing prayer! It’s believing that God is the only hope and that He is able! Satan tempts me to despair, but I go before the Lord, he comforts me and shows me His salvation!
Don’t give up praying! Don’t despair! Don’t take their lives out of the context of what God is doing and bringing about for His glory and their good. Think of Naomi, Hannah, Esther. What would they tell us of God’s faithfulness, of His ability to restore, to redeem, to deliver!
In the book of Ruth, Naomi, unable to see the plan of God, returned home broken and thinking God had dealt with her bitterly, that He had testified against her and afflicted her. But after seeing God’s greater purpose and plan in the kinsman redeemer she could rejoice “God has not left off his kindness to the living and the dead!” The women said of her grandchild, “ he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life and a nourisher of thine old age.” Her grandchild would be in the lineage of the Messiah!
Hannah went year after year weeping before the Lord, not able to enjoy the favor and love of her husband because she was childless. Little did she know that God would give her a son that would be a mighty judge and priest to Israel and anoint King David! This would stop the provocation from Penninah and cause Hannah’s heart to rejoice! The Lord also blessed Hannah with other children. ( 1 Samuel 1)
Esther, a captive in Persia, blessed with beauty, is recognized and raised to an honored position. When asked to risk this all, she feared for her life. In making the decision to honor the Lord and Mordecai’s request to go before the King, she had no idea what her future would hold. What rejoicing would fill her life later to know that through her, the people of God had been delivered and protected. (Esther 5)
I mention these women to encourage you to not look at the present circumstances that your loved ones are facing or the situations they may be living in, but believe God to work for Christ’s sake in their lives to do above and beyond what we could ask or think! That is God’s way! So don’t stop believing, don’t stop interceding. God hears and answers!!
Carla Shipp