| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Mighty Prevailing Prayer” Our Bible verse for today: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Persistent prayer can be a journey of discovery” Persistent prayer over an extended period of time regarding a specific issue can be a time of discovery for us. Often, as we spend time with the Lord thinking and praying about a person or situation, the Holy Spirit will lead us to greater and greater understanding about it. Perhaps it would be helpful to visualize your journey of discovery as the descent into a deep cave. The deeper you go the more you discover. That’s what persistent prayer about a person or situation can be like. Yesterday we considered the five ways in which God typically speaks to us. Today I want to briefly comment on each of them and show how each can add to the depth of our journey of discovery. Prayer is the starting place. But prayer can and should consist of more than just us speaking to God. When seeking answers in prayer, we can supplement it with a prayerful search of the Bible as we look for verses and passages that pertain to the issue we’re praying about. Prayer is the primary way we speak to God. The Bible is the primary way that God speaks to us. Combine the two and you’ve got a conversation going on. God also speaks to us through the circumstances of our lives. Carefully and prayerfully consider if perhaps God is telling you something by the circumstances you find yourself in. Was there inappropriate conduct or bad decisions that brought you to this point and if so, does something in your life need to change? Also, if the circumstances require that a decision be made and action be taken, remember that God is amazingly consistent in our lives. Almost always one thing leads to another, like stepping stones. So, if you’re looking for the way forward, take a moment to look backward and consider how the choices you are faced with now line up with what God has already been doing in your life. That then will often point you to the way forward. God also speaks to us through the wise counsel of other Christians. Ask others to pray for you and with you about your situation. Then ask them to share their thoughts with you about it. Finally, sometimes God uses the entire church to speak a word of affirmation, such as a call to ministry or perhaps to missions, or it could be a word of caution and correction. All of the steps we’ve just considered take time and effort. And typically, the answer or revelation we’re seeking unfolds progressively over time. But as has been previously noted, one reason God does it that way is to hold us in prayer, and therefore in fellowship with Himself. Mighty prayer that prevails is often mighty prayer that first persisted. God bless, Pastor Jim |
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