Let's Start Praying More (Part 15)

 
PERSISTANCE IN PRAYER
 

“It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune telling” (Acts 16:16)

 

Believers might find it surprising to classify prayer as an act of rebellion. The believer who prays is rebelling against the world and the ruler of this world, Satan. In effect, the believer is saying that he will not accept the status quo, but that he believes the world can and will be made better through the power of the Creator. In the words of John MacAuthur, “Because communion with God is so vital and prayer so effective in the fulfillment of God’s plan, the enemy attempts constantly to introduce errors into our understanding of and commitment to pray.” (Alone With God, John McArthur) 

 

All believers are in a war “against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places,” (Eph 6:12). One of the great weapons in our battle against spiritual forces is prayer, (Dan 10:12-13). Therefore, we will be resisted as Paul and Silas were when they “were going to the place of prayer.” A demon possess girl “met” them, which implies that she went out of her way to disrupt the plans of Paul and Silas. So it is today in the believer’s prayer life. We are often hindered or distracted from praying. Sometimes we just do not feel worthy of having our prayers answered. This is not new and the writers of Exodus Rabba wrote to this concern saying,

 

“But no person should refrain from praying because he feels himself undeserving of a response; he should persevere with his prayer. ‘If a man sees that he prays and is not answered, he should repeat his prayer’ (Exod. R. 32b)’”

 

Jesus told his disciples a parable “to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,” (Luke 18:1).

 

“In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him saying, ‘Give me legal protection form my opponent.’ For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’ And the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly.” (Luke 18:2-8)

 

Just as in many endeavors of life, persistence in prayer is important. Although God would never forget a word of our prayer, persistence is a demonstration of our faith (Luke 18:9); we believe that God both desires and is capable of answering our prayer. The Jewish sages sometimes say that God so much desires a relationship with us that an unanswered prayer can be equated to the father who does not quickly grant requests to his children because he enjoys their presence when they come to him with requests.

 

Persistence is seen in a believer's frequent and direction of their prayer.

(1) Frequency. The need for persistent prayer is echoed in the tradition of Jews praying three times a day, as the prophet Daniel prayed. “Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously,” (Dan 6:10)

 

Daniel prayed “three times a day,” which is a pattern repeated in scripture, although seven times a day is mentioned in Psalms 119:164. The Psalmist wrote, “Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur, and He will hear my voice,” (Pas 55:17). Evening and morning prayers coincided with the two daily animal offerings, that occurred at the third hour and ninth hour of the day, (Acts 10:3). The prayer of Cornelius coincided with the afternoon offering, (Acts 10:3), while the answer to one of Daniel’s prayers came “about the time of the evening offering,” (Dan 9:21). Although advocated three times a day, prayer was not to be seen as an obligation, but as an opportunity for communion. “When you pray, regard not your prayer as a fixed task, but as an appeal for mercy and grace before the All-present. (Aboth II.18)

The daily offerings were “continuously” before the LORD (Ex 29:38), because one animal was always on the altar. The writer of Hebrews uses this understand to exhort believers to “continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name,” (Heb 13:15).  Paul drew on the standard of the Hebrew text when he wrote, "pray at all times” (Eph 6:18), “pray without ceasing” (1 Thes 5:25), and be “devoted to prayer,” (Rom 12:12). In other words, anytime and all the time is the right time to pray.  In the words of the Encyclopaedia Judaica,

 

“The heart and not the hour dictated the occasion for prayer. Day and night the Heavenly Father could be entreated.” (Encyclopaedia Judaica, Second Edition, Vol 16, page 457)

(Next Part - Is the direction we pray important?) - Scott