Have you ever had those people in your life that you’ve prayed and prayed and prayed for and yet, still nothing? The circumstances in their lives aren’t changing, their actions and attitudes aren’t changing and it seems like your prayers are falling on deaf ears? It’s difficult and sometimes discouraging to feel that your prayers don’t matter or do anything. But in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Paul encourages the believers of Thessolonica to “pray without ceasing”.
We serve an all-powerful, all-knowing and ever-present God “who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Eph. 3:20)! So when we don’t see those heart-felt prayers answered in the ways we believe they should be or in our timing, does that mean God is not who the Bible says he is? Does that mean we should trust him any less? Definitely not! His Word is true. When we look at the verse above, found in Ephesians, we often simply quote the first part and forget the very important second part: according to the power that works in us.
Some verses call us to take a personal inventory of our spiritual state and this is one such verse. How much of God’s power is working in you? Does the Holy Spirit have full access to your spirit? Is He flowing a river through you, or does it seem like just a trickle? The Word of God is clear about the Lord’s desire that we be filled with his Holy Spirit and walk in his power. He has done his part; have we done our part?
If we’re not putting first things first in our lives, it’s a pretty good bet that we’re not walking in the full power of the Holy Spirit. If we don’t place our time in his Word and in prayer first and foremost in our lives, we’re probably missing out on some power somewhere. If we’re not walking according to the standards set before us by God himself, there may not be too much power flowing in our lives.
It is crucial to our spiritual health and strength to prioritize the reading of the Word and communion with the Lord in prayer. That verse in Ephesians states that God is completely capable of blowing our socks off with the things he can do above and beyond our wildest imaginations, according to the power that works in us. That doesn’t mean that if we aren’t seeing our prayers answered then we must be living in horrendous sin; don’t take it that way. We live in a broken world and life is going to have it’s trials until the day Jesus returns to take us home…but he still answers prayers!
When we bring our requests boldly to the throne of God, we should come expecting him to do way more than we ask because that is who he is! Praying without ceasing means persisting even when we don’t see things changing in the natural realm. There is a very real spiritual world that we don’t always see and when we are lifting up a lost loved one, for example, we know that the work of salvation has already been done. It’s finished! Jesus finished it on the cross and in his resurrection! But every prayer offered up to the Lord is like another link from him to those things we are praying for. And although you may not be seeing the spiritual battle, when you pray for your loved ones to come to know the Lord (or any other request that is clearly the will of God), there is a mighty work going on in that spiritual realm.
Pray without ceasing. We win! In the end, when it’s all said and done, we are on the winning team. Be encouraged today and know that every prayer you pray in the name of Jesus to the glory of his name is heard and answers are on the way. If you’re not walking in the power of the Holy Spirit as you should be, ask the Lord to quicken your heart and show you how to walk in his power and might; you will begin to see that power flow like a river. You may not always see them, but those answers to your prayers are on the way!
It is funny how you come across things without looking for them – serendipity.
The past 10 months of my life have been painful beyond belief. My husband of 12 years walked out in March; my home foreclosed in May;
I had no job or working vehicle and accomplishing that was a struggle.
There were (and are) various trials since then and currently. I just lost my
new job. In all these months, I have prayed for my husband (now ex since Sept) to come to the Lord, to be convicted of his sins; for his heart of stone to become flesh, etc. He resurfaced in Oct crying over what he had done and returned to my life for a few weeks and then stopped all contact. I took up my cross and began praying again, and again, and again. Just the other day I heard on the radio a couple talk about how God revived their dead marriage. I came across this message today by “accident”, giving up my quest of a healed relationship, one built on Christ and not on the brokenness we were living. I have shed all the tears with none left and have a huge void. I agree with your article and have lived it completely; except for being completely filled with the Holy Spirit. I came to the breaking point that God just wasn’t going to answer my prayer. Thanks for the article and I hope that it has reached other hearts as well who are hurting and waiting to have their requests be made manifest in the natural. God Bless.