Good morning! It's a cold, but lovely morning here. We woke up to snow on the ground. Is winter starting to set in? I'm always amazed when I think of the miracle of how no two snowflakes are alike...isn't that amazing!? It just goes to show how infinitely wise our heavenly Father is.
This morning, before Chad went to work, we had a little Bible time together. We were reading in Luke chapter 11. The disciples had asked Jesus to teach them to pray and Jesus told them to pray what is known today as 'the Lord's prayer' -- although I'm not sure why people call it the Lord's prayer cause actually it is meant to be OUR prayer. I think if you want to find the Lord's prayer, you should look in John 17. -- Anyway, after He finishes telling them what to pray, he uses an illustration. Here are the verses:
"And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.
I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity (or persistence) he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
(Luke 11:5-10)
I guess when I read this before, I read it in the King James Version and never really knew what that word 'importunity' meant. But when Chad read it today from the New King James, he used the word 'persistence' and it was clear to me what the passage was actually saying. The Lord actually is asking us to be persistent in prayer. Like the man in the illustration, perhaps the Lord is saying, 'not now'...or something to that effect. But it says to be persistent and He will give. This ties right in to the matter of faith, 'ask believing'. If we were just to give up hope and say, "I've prayed for this time and again, the Lord just isn't going to answer". I dont think that is the attitude that He would want us to have. Persistence by faith, I think this is key.
Anyway, I just thought this was encouraging cause sometimes I can get discouraged in prayer, feeling like I just pray the same thing time and again, but that is what we ought to be doing! That's nice to know. :) -- for me anyway. So, lets, as Romans 12:12 says "...continuing instant in prayer." (The word instant here means to be earnest towards, to persevere, to be constantly diligent.) Lets persevere in prayer and be constantly diligent in it! :)
Grace and peace to you ~
No comments:
Post a Comment