Starke Reality: Persistent Prayer Bridges that Gap

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Persistent Prayer Bridges that Gap

From: firstlight@billriceranch.org

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Luke 11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

I suppose most every religion in the world relies very heavily on prayer. It is an important part of their liturgy. Many of those prayers are prescribed prayers, memorized and spoken whether they are felt or not. Many people pray every day, but they are simply reciting some words and not communicating with God. They are not asking. If you know the Lord, prayer should be much more than that to you.

Luke 11 starts out with one of the disciples asking Jesus to teach them how to pray. Now this is interesting that someone would have to learn how to pray. I think there is a sense in which prayer is the natural inclination of anyone who knows his need and knows that there is a God. Prayer is but the cry of one in trouble.

Now as to how to pray, I think there are a few things we can see here. One of these lessons is the importance of persistent prayer. Jesus said in verse 9, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." Asking, seeking, and knocking are all continuous actions, and that is exactly what Jesus intended.
If you are knocking at a door in order to get an answer, you don't just knock one time then walk away. You keep knocking until you get an answer. It is the same with seeking and asking. You keep at it until you get an answer.

Now, God is much better at knowing how to answer than we are at knowing how to ask. A persistent prayer bridges that gap. What if you are praying for the wrong thing? I can't think of a quicker way to find out if you are praying for the wrong thing than by simply asking until God gives you an answer, at which time you can respond in gratitude and submission.

If we don't know how to pray, then God Himself can help us specifically in the Person of the Holy Spirit. Seeking the Holy Spirit's power, guidance, and grace is something we should be persistently praying about every day. God knows how to answer more than we know how to pray, but often times asking persistently is the bridge that crosses that gap.

Prayer Requests:
-Meetings this week in Rockford, IL; Fort Scott, KS; Fremont, OH; Escondido, CA; and Pensacola, FL