Do you ever experience those times which can be described in no other way but as discouragement in prayer? These attacks sometimes come in the form of, as it were, a portrait of the unchanging-ness of a matter longed prayed about being held before your very eyes – especially just as you prepare your heart to seek God afresh. The work of persevering in prayer – in faith – in the face of no discernible “breaking through” is, unsurprisingly, a ground of activity for the powers of darkness and, also, opportunity to ask questions of yourself while seeking God in a deeper way.
In the midst of “one of those moments” as I wrestled to prepare my heart to resist the discouragement hindering me from actually praying, the grace of God was poured out for me in the form of encouragement to persevere. Whilst it is undoubtedly true concerning the matter, that tokens of grace from Father in Heaven have been granted along the way, in an issue cast in terms of being a matter of darkness or light – there being no in-between – the answer sought has not yet been manifested. Despite much prayer over many years! There was the arrow of discouragement hoping to meet its aim! It would have seen the completion of the question which would had progressed to being fully formed upon my heart – had not grace intercepted before it could take ground! That question would have been: ‘but I’ve prayed and prayed and prayed and still the matter is not changed!’ It may not at first appear to be a question, but rightly seen, it actually is.
By what means then did God in His mercy intervene with His grace? It was by an unlooked-for word He immediately brought to my mind, a Scripture passage not anywhere in my thoughts, and which brought the timely encouragement – again. That word was that which Peter spoke when the Lord Yeshua instructed him to lower his nets down in the water again, although this seasoned fisherman had failed to get a catch that very night. Luke 5:1-6 records the account, saying:
So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.
That word ‘nevertheless’ entered my heart deeply, as though the Holy Spirit was showing that even though it was true that I could not see any outward change in the matter, nevertheless continue in prayer. This piece of grace brought further mercies from God to me in that He reminded me of a Scripture passage which had been part of my daily reading recently and began underlining each point of it to me dee within. I had forgotten how it had struck me then at that time of the reading – and those same words of Lord Yeshua the Messiah struck me again. Luke 11:11-13 records them:
“If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?
Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Therefore, I continued to be reminded:
“So I say to you, 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.” (Luke 11:9-10).
Being confident through the Scripture and the Spirit of God that the matter of prayer at hand is the will of God (see e.g. 1 John 5:14-15, being one of my “tutors” used by the Lord in His continuing teaching me to pray), His encouragement to my soul was indeed a timely one. Undergirded by His mercy and grace to help me in this my time of need, Lord Yeshua enabled me to persevere in prayer, from the heart rather than mere “routine” it may otherwise have been this morning. Praise the Lord! May the Lord continue to teach me and cause me to glean from His much-needed continuous instructions regarding prayer!
It may be that a situation for you seems to be unchanging despite the extensive time in prayer about it, nevertheless, may you be encouraged by the Lord Yeshua Himself by His word and Spirit to lift those petitions to our Father in Heaven with fresh grace and enabled faith in our God.
Amen.
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