Persistence Pays...
Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at 8:11AM 
Greetings Dear Friends!
Susie Larson here...
And to those visiting, I say welcome!
I post every Wednesday and my sole purpose is to nourish your soul and encourage you along the way.
Many of you know that prayer is a significant part of my life. Some of the most profound blessings in my life are a result of tenacious, unrelenting prayer.
I often think of the example Jesus gave us when teaching on how we should pray. In Luke 18 we learn about a widow and an unrighteous judge. The woman pleaded with the judge for justice against her adversaries. The judge neither feared God nor cared about the woman, but because she wore him out from her asking, he granted that which she requested.
Isn't it interesting that Jesus used such an example for us as His children?
He is not an unrighteous judge; He is our Beloved One.
In Luke 11 Jesus gives us another example of how to lay hold of the things we need from Him. Jesus paints the picture of a friend who knocks on the door of another friend at midnight. The friend standing outside needed some bread but the friend on the inside had already gone to bed and tucked his kids in for the night. Jesus explains that the friend-in-need, got his needs met, not because the "inside friend" was a friend, but because of the boldness of his request.
While evil prevails in our day, we must learn the secret Jesus is trying to teach us here.
We must not think for a minute that Jesus wants us to get good at begging. On the contrary. When we are in Christ, we are no longer beggars; we are His Beloved.
We are no longer orphans, we are royalty.
Jesus wants us to learn courage, boldness, and persistence because when we move into laying hold of the things God has promised us, we will encounter opposition.
The enemy of our souls will not simply back up and let us take hold of the abundant life God has promised us.
John 10:10 says, "The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I have come that you might have life; and life more abundantly."
Make no mistake about it. The devil knows your name and he wants to take you out. He knows about your hopes and dreams and especially your weaknesses.
He is camping on the assumption that you won't know and believe all you possess in Christ. Because if you are unaware of who you are and what you possess, you'll be easy to steal from; easy to destroy.
An important and essential component to persistent prayer is the understanding of your "rights" as a child of God. You can't really persist in believing for things that you don't know have been offered you. But once you get God's Word into the core of your belief system, you can weather the storms because you know what's on the other side for you.
I think we are going to get to Heaven and see how many times we gave up just before the breakthrough. With one foot in front of the other, we must persist in the things God has promised us.
His Word is true and He is good all the time.
What "next breakthrough" are you believing God for? To what are you applying your faith?
Jesus asks us this question, "When I return, will I find faith on the earth?" (See Luke 18:8).
Will He?
Without faith, it's impossible to please Him.
We can approach His throne room with boldness and confidence.
He smiles when we believe.
We live in a day when passivity must be put under our feet and a holy grit must take its place.
Like my pastor says, "Satan is just a dog on a leash. When we turn away from his bark to listen to the voice of God, we will have victory every time."
Have a blessed week.
Reader Comments (2)
I'm sorry to hear that you had a tough week, but I'm GLAD to hear that you are pressing into the Lord and gleaning from His Word.
We are never more powerful than when we know and believe what we possess in Christ!
Be blessed, my friend.