Pray instead of crying - boldness and persistence in prayer
Dr. Roberto Miranda
SUMMARY: Effective prayer requires persistent and determined requests. Instead of crying, pray; instead of shaking, bend your knees. Sometimes God may not answer our prayers immediately to purify our requests and help us understand why we are asking. The greatest test of faith and obedience is persisting in prayer despite long waiting times. When the answer arrives after a long wait, it comes with interest and divine pleasure because of our submission and obedience.
Life's battles have to be fought through insistent prayer. Faith is useless if it is not manifested through determined and persistent requests. The great reformer Martin Luther prayed: "Dear Lord, Although I am sure of my position, I cannot hold it without You. Help me or I am lost." Effective prayer requires that kind of conviction and regularity . C. H. Spurgeon, the great nineteenth-century English preacher wrote: “Prayer draws the rope down in the world, and the great bell rings up in the ear of God. Some hardly move the bell, so languid their prayers are; others only give the rope an occasional tug. But the one who communicates with the sky is the man who grips the rope with boldness and continually pulls it with all his might ”.
The Apostle Paul advises, "Do not be anxious about anything, but let your requests be known in all prayer and supplication" (Phil 4: 6). In other words, instead of crying, pray; Instead of your knees shaking, bend them. If they are bent they will not be able to shake! (This reminds me of the joke about the young minister who was invited to preach at the seminary from which he graduated. When it was time to stop and preach, he stood up and said, “What I have to say must be pretty good. Because my knees are already clapping ”!)
At times, God will glorify himself in not answering our prayers immediately. It will take us through silence and waiting for us to purify our requests, so that we better understand why we are asking. You may want us to wait until we are ready to process and retain what we are asking for.
The greatest test of faith and obedience we will give to God when we persist in our prayers despite long waiting times, when it seemed that He had already ignored our need. By continuing to pray, we will have demonstrated our conviction that He is faithful, and that He always delivers what He promises. When the answer arrives after that long wait, it will come with interest, accompanied by divine pleasure, caused by a submissive and obedient son who preferred to believe and insist, rather than give up on the wait.
The Apostle Paul advises, "Do not be anxious about anything, but let your requests be known in all prayer and supplication" (Phil 4: 6). In other words, instead of crying, pray; Instead of your knees shaking, bend them. If they are bent they will not be able to shake! (This reminds me of the joke about the young minister who was invited to preach at the seminary from which he graduated. When it was time to stop and preach, he stood up and said, “What I have to say must be pretty good. Because my knees are already clapping ”!)
At times, God will glorify himself in not answering our prayers immediately. It will take us through silence and waiting for us to purify our requests, so that we better understand why we are asking. You may want us to wait until we are ready to process and retain what we are asking for.
The greatest test of faith and obedience we will give to God when we persist in our prayers despite long waiting times, when it seemed that He had already ignored our need. By continuing to pray, we will have demonstrated our conviction that He is faithful, and that He always delivers what He promises. When the answer arrives after that long wait, it will come with interest, accompanied by divine pleasure, caused by a submissive and obedient son who preferred to believe and insist, rather than give up on the wait.
