The Bible calls us to ALWAYS PRAY AND NOT LOSE HEART

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ! Welcome to “Daily Word for Spiritual Edification”!

I am truly anxious to persuade you of the power and importance of prayer in the life of believers, of the wonderful changes that come into a person’s life when he or she makes prayer the main priority. That is why we will continue talking about how to organize an effective prayer life. We will attempt to answer the following questions: What? Why? When? Where? How? We will try to find answers to every one of these questions concerning prayer.

I know that you have heard so much about prayer since you got saved. People have prayed in all times. It is no secret that pagans pray, Muslims pray, Buddhists pray, even atheists pray once in a while. Everyone prays! People pray in different situations and at different times. Many people know about prayer and its importance; nevertheless, prayer has not become their number 1 priority. I want to say that the people that have given prayer the first place in their lives shine in this dark world.

“We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John, 5:19)

“For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you” (Isaiah, 60:2).

The whole world lies in wickedness and darkness, but, looking at the people that have made prayer their priority #1, you realize that – so to speak – they are from another planet; they do not live in darkness because they seem shining. They have problems, and their lives are not any different, but they approach their problems in a different way, and they look forward into the future in a different way. Prayer so alters their lives and strengthens their relationships with God that they do not notice things that others do. Have you ever met such a person? They talk in a different manner. We hear complaints and grumbling all around us, but the people that have made prayer their #1 priority do not participate in this. They usually say: «Praise God! Everything is going to be alright! Praise God! There is a way out of this situation! We will overcome! » So, these people think differently. It is the result of an effective prayer life.

Unfortunately, many people pray only when it is convenient, even though they understand what prayer is. I want us to see that we cannot pray only when it is convenient for us; we must also pray when it is not convenient, because prayer is a vital part of Christian living. Many people pray only when they have serious problems, crises, or some difficulties. Have you heard about people that are on the verge of dying? What are their prayers like at those life-threatening moments? They are extremely fervent!

I once read a story about a plane crash. The plane was close to landing when suddenly the pilot realized that the landing gear worked only on one side; landing without landing gear could cause an explosion. The pilots were forced to perform an emergency landing. They had to stay up in the air until the fuel ended, or the explosion would have been inevitable. The passengers that had never prayed before were crying out: “Save us, Lord!” Because of their fervent prayer, the plane landed safely and there were no injuries. Who can say after this that atheists do not pray? They do pray! Many people wait until there is no other way out. They only pray when the only option left for them is to cry out to God: «Lord, help me!» But God wants the situation to be different; the Bible calls us to always pray and not lose heart.

«Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart» (Luke, 18:1).

God bless you!

Until tomorrow!

Pastor Rufus Ajiboye