Ingredients of Effective Prayer (Part4)

‘For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning’ Isaiah 62:1 (NASB)

I want you to put yourself in Abraham’s shoes as you read the following verses:

‘Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.’

There he stood watching the smoke rise over the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah after earnestly interceding for their salvation. If it had been you who had watched and prayed against what was happening, what would be going through your mind? I can guess: ‘God has not answered my prayer!’The disappointment of unanswered prayer is one thing that makes many of us give up on praying, or at least give up on prayer with expectancy. I have experienced unanswered prayer many times in my life, and know the disappointment and questions it can bring. This is especially so when you are certain that you have prayed in the will of God and in his way, just like Abraham did.

But I want you to learn from Abraham. His experience of what looks like clear unanswered prayer did not stop him from continuing to pray and to expect great things from God. Recall that he did not know at the time that in spite of what looked like unanswered prayer, God had in fact remembered his prayer and delivered his nephew, Lot. Nevertheless he continued to walk with God in dependence and expectation of good. He did not allow what he did not understand to distract him from what he understood – ‘that (God) exists, and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.’

We must never let any experience distract us from the truth that God is faithful and that he answers prayer. Sometimes, as in Abraham’s case, we say it is unanswered prayer only because we know in part. From the scriptures and from my experience I have discovered that God answers prayer, and that we can trust him to do what he says he will do. Just like Hannah we can testify of specific answers to prayer as a continuing experience. She testified: ‘I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him’ (1 Samuel 1:27 NIV). Prayer is a definite transaction with God. The Psalmist says ‘O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come’ (Psalm 65:2 NIV).

When we are faced with unanswered prayer let us not run away from God, but run to him. Let us ask God what he is saying. Perhaps we have prayed in a wrong way, or maybe it is not yet over and we ought to continue praying, or maybe there is work in progress that we are not seeing. God will give us wisdom if we ask him.

By all means let us not pray the wrong way but learn to apply all the ingredients of effective prayer. But above all let us continue to pray even when it seems like nothing is changing. I believe that many of the things we call unanswered prayers are actually unfinished prayers – prayers on which we have given up too soon before the answer came. The bible says:

‘For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning’ Isaiah 62:1 (NASB)

This man is declaring his commitment not to keep silent, but to continue to pray until God’s will is done. The emphasis is on ‘until’. We must pray until we see what God has promised.

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Comments? Questions? etc. If these messages have been helpful or unclear it would encourage us to hear from you, please write to chim_ibidun@hotmail.com
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PLEASE are you born again? It is not enough to believe in the existence of God, to go to church, or be interested in spiritual things. Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus died to deliver you from sin so that you can come to God. (John 3:16) If you ask him to forgive you and give you a new heart he will. (Acts 2:38; Romans 10:9-11).Try it. I’d love to hear from you @ chim_ibidun@hotmail.com
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Chim’sWRITE are regular articles on Christian living and cross-cultural missions from Chimezie Onyebilanma a cross-cultural missionary with Calvary Ministries (CAPRO). CAPRO is an indigenous African non-denominational cross-cultural  mission agency involved in reaching the remaining unreached peoples in 22 countries of Africa and the Middle East as of present. CAPRO is involved in missions mobilization, training, and research as well as church-planting and mercy ministries (literacy, rural development, primary health-care, relief and rehabilitation). CAPRO is a faith mission, both the ministry and its missionaries depend on God’s provision through the giving of his people. None of its missionaries are salaried. All gifts are used as designated.

Surface Address: CAPRO MISSIONS SA, Durban, 47 Sutherland Rd, Waterfall, 3610, Durban, P.O.Box 207, Hillcrest, 3650, South Africa.Tel: +2731 766 2336; +27 794737208 (cell)

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