The Perseverance in Prayer

We're so glad that you're with us today. If you have your Bible, turn with me to Luke chapter 18. Luke chapter 18, as we look once again at what our Lord says about prayer. Last week we looked at the priority of prayer. Luke 18 verse number one, how men ought always to pray and not to faint.

And in that priority, we looked at what it was, as the Bible explains to us, our duty in prayer and how responsible we were to be when it comes to our, our prayer life. We also looked at those things that, that hindered our prayer life. And we, we talked to you about those sinful things that we do that, that keep us from being able to have that open communion with the Lord. And I wonder how many of you took my advice and you followed through with what the word of the Lord said in first Peter chapter three, verse number seven, that men ought to honor their wives as their most cherished possession, so their prayers are not hindered.

I wonder if you went home and you asked your wife, if she felt like she was the most honorable possession in your life. I know that one person did. They called me this past week and they went home. And this is what he said to me. He said, now I wasn't going to do it until you triple dared us. Now in the first service, I didn't do that.

I just dared you in the first service, but that's because in the second service, they're a little bit more carnal than the first service people are.

So I have to kind of triple dare them. And so he said, when you triple dared me, I realized I had to go and ask my wife, even though I knew that I did not honor her as my most precious possession. But nevertheless, I asked the question anyway. And before the words came out of my, my mouth, she was already in tears. She knew, and I knew that there was work to be done. Let me tell you something.

There is nothing that thrills my heart more than someone who takes what is said to heart and follows through with it. And so, you know, it's important to understand God's word and how important it is to us and how we are to obey what God says in his word.

And this man said to me, he said, it was a precious time that I had with my wife. As we began to communicate to one another about the things we needed to work on in our marriage, he goes, I know what I need to work on. You know, as men, we basically do know those things, don't we? But when you have to go home and you have to ask your wife and face her, and then she explained to you, yes, I don't believe that I am the honorable one in your life. You can begin to realize why your prayers had not got past the roof of your house.

The Bible has been very clear that if you don't do that, your prayers are hindered. But we talked about the priority of prayer. Today, we're going to talk about perseverance in prayer, persistence in prayer. And next week, we're going to talk about penitence in prayer. As I begin thinking about this, I thought to myself, you know, we need to talk something about the privilege of prayer somewhere because there is a great privilege in prayer. Do you realize that the Bible says these words in the book of Hebrews, the fourth chapter, the 16th verse, let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.

That's the privilege of prayer. Do you know how privileged we are as the children of the living God that we can access the throne of God at any moment of the day and he is always listening? It's not like when your kids come to you and they say, hey, hey, dad, can I have your attention? No, I'm busy right now.

Come back a little bit later on. That's what I do. When I'm busy doing something else, I don't want to talk to anybody else. See, God's never too busy doing something else that he doesn't have time to hear what you have to say. And so the privilege of prayer is that we can go with confidence, with boldness before the throne of grace, and we know that God is looking to bestow mercy and grace on us so that during our time of need, there is grace that's more than sufficient. The Psalm was said in Psalm 65, verse number two, O thou who dost hear prayers, to thee all men come.

He's the one who hears. And so we had this great privilege to go boldly, to walk right into the presence of Almighty God, to kneel before him and to beseech him. And he always is listening. That's the great privilege of prayer. That will help you as we continue our study in Luke chapter 18, looking at what it means to persevere in prayer, knowing that he's always there to listen.

So I thought a little bit longer and I went from the, from the privilege of prayer to talk about the prerequisites of prayer. They're all Ps, just in case you're wondering. What are the prerequisites of prayer? There are two major ones. One is confession. First John one nine, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

To understand that's, that's crucial because when we go to God and confess our sins, it means to say the same thing about your sin that God says about your sin.

When we go and we admit that we're sinners and that we have violated the commandments and the principles of a holy God and the person of God, God restores communion. We don't confess to obtain forgiveness. We've already been forgiven. All of our sins, past, present and future are forgiven. Our God is so faithful to forgive us that that forgiveness has already taken place. When we confess our sins, we restore a relationship that's been broken by our sinfulness. So confession's crucial. It's a prerequisite in our prayer life, but there's one more you need to understand that we miss.

It's not just confession, it's compassion. Did you know that? I bet you didn't know that. So let me read the verse to you.

Proverbs chapter 21 verse number 13. Whosoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard. Isn't that amazing? Most of us didn't even know that verse even existed, but it's there. Proverbs 21 verse number 13. Compassion is a prerequisite of prayer. Listen, if we are not compassionate toward those who have a need, then how is it we can go to God and expect him to have compassion on us when we are unwilling to live out our relationship with God to somebody else who has a need?

That's important. That's the prerequisite of prayer. Boy, I wish we had time to expound upon that. So then I begin to think about not only about the prerequisites of prayer and not only by the privilege of prayer, but the pattern of prayer. God gave us a pattern on how to pray. Matthew chapter 6 verses 9 to 13. Luke chapter 11 verses 1 to 5. It's a whole pattern on how to pray. And I come to realize that when you listen to people pray, they don't understand the pattern. They don't get it. They just begin to pray and they forget that the Lord taught his disciples how to pray.

And you know the prayer. Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And give us this day our daily bread. Right? Remember that? And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and thine is the power and thine is the glory forever. Amen. We know that prayer, but that's the pattern on how all prayers need to be.

It all begins with God and his glory. And if you don't follow the pattern, you can't expect God to deal with man and his needs. The pattern's crucial. Listen, if the Lord takes time to teach us how to pray, wouldn't it be good for us to listen how to do that? That we might follow that pattern? Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. You must be consumed with my preeminence. You must be concerned with my program, my kingdom. You must be committed to my plan. Listen, if you are not consumed with my preeminence, if you are not concerned with my program and you're not committed to my plan, don't ask to give us, forgive us and lead us.

That's so important. God says, when you come to pray, you come my way. And when you come my way, when you are so consumed with my name and my glory and my honor, and you are concerned about my kingdom, my program, my glory, excuse me, and you are committed to my will and not your will. Now you're ready to pray. Now you're ready. But if you come and you come praying about your program, you come praying about your plans and you come praying about your preeminence, it's all about you. God says, oh no, that's not how it works.

See, we forget that. God laid out the pattern and now, and now when you go that way, totally committed to God and his glory, his name, his kingdom and his will, then you can rejoice in his provision. Because when you pray, give us this day, our daily bread, sometimes the bread God gives you is the bread of adversity and the bread of tragedy. But you see, if you're committed to your will, you don't want that bread, do you? If you're committed to your name, you don't want that bread, do you? If you're committed to your program, your kingdom, you don't want to taste that bread.

But boy, if you're committed to God and his glory, give us, give us Lord, our daily bread. You're ready to receive the bread of affliction, the bread of adversity, the bread that he decides to give you because he knows what you need that day. He knows how to feed you. He knows what you do. So you can rejoice in his provision and you can receive and then respond to his pardon. We are to be forgiving as our father in heaven forgives. And then we are able to rest in his protection and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Wow. God gave us a pattern. Say, why don't you preach on that? We have. It's in the tape ministry. You can go there and pick it up. And we've got two sets on it. One in Luke and one in Matthew. You're able to understand about the pattern of prayer, but all that's important. I mean, I know we're talking about the priority of prayer in Luke 18, one, you got to understand that, but you have to understand a couple with that comes the privilege of prayer comes the prerequisites to prayer comes the pattern for prayer.

On top of all that, I thought about the power of prayer. Did you ever think about the power of prayer? Ephesians, I'm sorry. James chapter five, verse number 17, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much the effectual fervent prayer. And that's where our Luke 18 parable comes in that we're going to talk about this morning, persistence and perseverance in prayer, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man, not an unrighteous man, not an unholy man, but a righteous man availeth much, much is accomplished through righteous people who come and beseech the throne of God fervently because they want to honor the name of God.

We go back to the Old Testament and realize that Hannah prayed in first Samuel one fervently and Samuel was born.

Second Kings chapter four, Elijah prayed. A child was raised from the dead. In Acts 12, the believers prayed and Peter was released from jail. In Joshua seven, Joshua prayed because they had won the victory at Jericho, but lost at a little puny town called Ai. And God revealed that there was sin in the camp. They dealt with the sin and were able to go on to victory. Let me ask you a question.

When you pray, what does God reveal to you? When you pray, what does God do? The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. That's the power of prayer. On top of that, there's that great promise of prayer. Just to give you another P because it all goes together. First John chapter five, verse number 14.

And this is the confidence which we had before him that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the request which we have asked from him. That's the promise of prayer. God grants us that promise. But in spite of the promise, in spite of the privilege and the power, in spite of the pattern, in spite of the priority, in spite of the perseverance and persistence, you need to understand the purpose of prayer. Because so many people miss this.

And the Bible says in John's gospel, 14th chapter, 13th verse. And whatever you ask in my name, that will I do. The father may be glorified in the son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it. Wow. Here's the purpose of prayer. It's simply this. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it so that the father may be glorified. That's the purpose of prayer. The only purpose you drop to your knees is so that God is honored. That's it. It's for the glory and praise of God. Listen, if when you ask God to do something and the father's not glorified in the prayer, the answer's always no.

Always no. It's all about the glory of God. How can God be glorified the best in and through your life? And so when I go to prayer, I am praying, Lord, for your honor, for your glory. Nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done. That's what Jesus prayed. Lord, take this cup from me, this wrath that's going to encompass me. Take it from me, if it be your will. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. What do you want for me? Because what you want is what I want. If what you want isn't what God wants, then your prayers will be hindered.

Pray God's way because he wants to be glorified in and through your life. And you also got to talk about the problem in prayer. And the problem in prayer we talked about last week in Luke chapter 18, which simply says this in verse number nine, and he also told this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and viewed others with contempt. Wow. They trusted in themselves. That's the problem in prayer. That's why we don't pray. We trust in ourselves. Let me ask you a question.

How has your prayer life changed from last Sunday to this Sunday? Has it changed at all? Did you listen last Sunday so that it made a difference on Monday morning, on Tuesday morning, on Wednesday morning? Did you find that place of scheduled prayer? Do you find that place where you set aside and go into your closet and shut the door and your father who sees and hears in secret will reward you openly? Did anything happen in your own personal life when it came to prayer based on what you heard? Luke 18 one men ought always to pray and not to faint.

I would trust that it did. I would trust that things would have changed in your own personal life because if they didn't, you're experiencing the problem of prayer. You're trusting only in yourself and that always leads to failure. One person said no time to pray. Oh who so fraught with early care as not to give a humble prayer some part of the day. No time to pray. What heart so calm, so pure within that needeth not some check from sin need not to pray. No time to pray. Mid each day's dangers what retreat more needful than the mercy seat who need not pray.

No time to pray. Must care or business urgent call so press us as to take it all each passing day. What thought more drear than that our God his faith should hide and say through all life's swelling tide no time to hear. Would it be that God said no time to hear? You got no time to pray? I have no time to hear. Boy we'd say wow what kind of God is that who doesn't want to hear my prayer? Saying God that says what kind of child are you that doesn't want to come to me and pray and beseech the throne of grace that you might be able to receive the glorious mercy I have to bestow upon you.

Prayer is such a intricate part of our own spiritual lives. Why do we get on our knees on Sunday morning? Why do we do that? Some people think it's a little catholic. You know it's not about that it's it's it's about doing Paul did in the book of Ephesians when he says I bow my knee before the father. It's it's a symbol of submission. That's why we say if you're able because some people aren't able okay they physically can't do it but if you are it's just a symbol of our submission to God. Our humility before God that we come on bended knee to the throne of grace.

That we remove all obstacles of arrogance and all obstacles of pride and come before him and there's something that happens when you're on your knees isn't there? It's something different about how you prostrate yourself before the throne of God and come before him. It doesn't mean you have to do that all the time as long as you've bowed the heart to the king. You've bowed in submission to his lordship. That's the crucial element. We just in a symbolic way humble ourselves before the king of kings and ask him to accomplish his will.

That's what we want. So we look at the priority of prayer last week. Today we're going to look at the perseverance in prayer.

Read it with me if you would Luke chapter 18 verse number one. Now he was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart saying there was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man and there was a widow in that city and she kept coming to him saying give me legal protection from my opponent and for a while he was unwilling but afterward he said to himself even though I do not fear God nor respect man yet because this widow bothers me I will give her legal protection lest by continually coming she wear me out and the lord said hear what the unrighteous judge said now shall not God bring about justice for his elect who cry to him day and night and will he delay long over them I tell you that he will bring about justice for them speedily however when the son of man comes will he find faith on the earth let me analyze the parable with you and then we'll apply the parable to you okay we'll analyze the parable with you then apply the parable to you the context is very important because if you understand the context you begin to understand what Christ is saying remember Luke 17 it's all in the context of the kingdom of God in fact all through chapter 18 it's about the kingdom of God here it's about prayer centered around that kingdom this is so important to understand men are always to pray and not to faint pray about what thy kingdom come thy will be done because it's all about the coming kingdom of God and so we are to be eschatologically praying praying for God's kingdom to come to earth why that's the context of Luke 18 and Luke 17 and that's why he talks about penitence those who will enter the kingdom and he talks about children after that about how children will enter the kingdom and then there's a rich man who can't enter the kingdom because he has another God it's all about the kingdom and so there must be a part of our life a desire to pray for God's kingdom to come we talked about that in Matthew 6 that's part of the pattern of prayer we want God's kingdom to come to earth and that's why it closes with when the son of man returns will he find this kind of faith on the earth what kind of faith people praying for his kingdom to come people persistently persevering and asking beseeching the throne of God that his kingdom might come to earth you see we forget that our prayer life is so narcissistic it's all about us it's all about my job it's all about my family it's all about uh my my health it's all about me me me me ask yourself how many times you use the word i in your prayers ask yourself that in fact begin to record them record your prayer then go back and listen to your prayer and ask and see how many times you talked about you me i how much you talked about God's kingdom God's will in God's name you'll be shattered and shocked to realize how much our prayer lives center around me when in scripture it's all about the program of God the person of God the preeminence of God the plan of God it's all about God and we wonder why our prayers are as weak as they are because all we can think about is me you say well wait a minute doesn't this woman do that yes this is a parable so let me let me look at these two characters with you as we analyze this parable to understand what it is she's doing you have this judge he is a wicked judge you have this widow she's all alone but this judge is so wicked he even says of himself that he has no fear of God he has no reverence for God nor does he have any respect or regard for man he says that about himself it's not that other people say it about him oh that judge man he he didn't fear God he didn't care about people not that's not what he says it says he says of himself even though i have no fear of God even though i have no regard for man i will respond to this widow's plea because she persistently comes after me but this judge had violated what the bible says about how judges were to rule if you go all the way back to second chronicles chapter 19 verse number six king jehoshaphat steps in to restore the kingdom and he says these words consider carefully what you do because you are not judging for man but for the lord who is with you whenever you give a verdict now let the fear of the lord be upon you judge carefully for with the lord our god there is no injustice or portion partiality or bribery that was the qualification for being a judge in israel you can't show partiality you can't take a bribe you must fear god and you must judge appropriately according to the word of god this judge was the antithesis to that he was a wicked man he had no concern for the woman he had no compassion for the woman he had no consideration for the woman he had no commitment to he had nothing for the woman he could care less about her because he did not fear god and if you don't fear god you care nothing about what happens to man and this was where that judge was and jesus tells this parable and there was this widow and she would go to this judge and she would plea for legal protection now no women did not go to court because court was designed only for man but because she was a widow she had no man that means she had no husband of course right she had no son she had no brother she had no father she had no nephew she had no cousin she had no male figure in her life to go and plead her case before the judge if she did that person would have represented her but she had nobody talk about somebody who was in dire straits she had nobody to plead her case someone had defrauded her someone had taken maybe property from her maybe money from her and she was looking for some kind of vindication she wasn't looking for vengeance she was looking for vindication and the bible speaks many times over about how defenseless widows were in malachi 3 it speaks of them being oppressed in exodus 22 it speaks of them being taken advantage of in isaiah chapter 1 they were often legal victims in fact in luke chapter 20 people devour widows houses so that they were taken advantage of and this poor woman who had nobody in her life no male figure in her life to represent her to the judge would go to the judge herself she would go to the court herself and the verdict came down i'm doing nothing but she didn't quit she didn't quit she went to his house she saw him in the marketplace when he when he when he began when he would begin to to board his his chariot she would be there when he would go to dinner with the other judges she'd be outside the the restaurant she was always there how do we know that because the text says this says very clearly and for a while he was unwilling but afterward he said to himself even though i do not fear god no respect man yet because this widow bothers me i will give her legal protection lest by continually coming she wear me out what that phrase means she wears me out she punched me out she gave me a black eye same phrase used of paul when he said that he used to buffet his body beat it into subjection lest he be disqualified for the ministry this woman was so relentless she was so persistent that she beat this guy up not literally but figuratively she gave him a black eye because she was always there she would not let up wherever he was when he opened the door in the morning there she was when he got home at night there she was when he got into his chariot there she was when he dialed his cell phone she was on the other end she was always there he couldn't get rid of this woman she was always around oh i gotta give this woman i'm gonna give her legal protection because she's beating me up she's punching me out she has knocked me out he met his match in this persistent woman now let's know what christ says this is so good hear what the unrighteous judge said did you hear what he said now shall not god bring about justice for his elect who cry to him day and night and will he delay long over them wow look at the contrast the contrast is so severe because he says look hear what the unrighteous judge said hear what he said now contrast that with your god who does care about your situation who is compassionate merciful and kind who listens to everything you say and longs to answer you have a father in heaven who's unlike the wicked judge the contrast is extreme one who has no fear of god one who has no concern for man one who truly is the god of the universe who cares completely about you and then you have this widow who is nameless but you're one of the elect one of the chosen you have a name you're a child of the living god you're not like a nameless widow who comes to a judge who doesn't care you are a child of the living god who's been chosen before the foundation of the world who comes before your father who is in heaven christ would address this earlier in luke chapter 11 remember back in luke chapter 11 turn back there with me if just for a moment luke chapter 11 christ is talking about prayer he gives the pattern of prayer we talked about that earlier he gives this whole pattern about prayer and then he says this in verse number five he said to them suppose one of you shall have a friend that shall go to him at midnight and say to him friend lend me three loaves for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey and i had nothing to set before him and from inside he shall enter and say do not bother me the door has already been shut and my children and i are in bed i cannot get up and give you anything i tell you even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs and i say to you ask and it shall be given to you seek and you shall find knock and it shall be open to you for everyone who asks receives and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks it shall be open now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish he will not give him a snake instead of a fish willy or if he asked for an egg he will not give him a scorpion willy if you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more shall your heavenly father give the holy spirit to those who ask him it all is a contrast about what your friend does what your father does as opposed to what your heavenly father does and the same thing is true in luke chapter 18 there is a god who loves and cares and is more concerned about you than you are about yourself and he is so concerned about you he is willing to hear what you have to say that's why he says he wants you to come boldly before the throne of grace and ask in your time of need that you might receive grace in your time of need that's what he wants for you and that's what he wants from me and he gives this great contrast because he wants you to understand what your heavenly father's like and if a wicked unjust judge will capitulate to a persevering widow how much more will your heavenly father do for you because you're one of his children who persistently with great perseverance continues to come before the throne of grace i see for the most part we just don't persevere in prayer do it but we pray and we expect god to answer right away and we'll pray for something for a week we'll give it a week maybe two we want god to change my marriage so we'll pray for it for a week thinking that that's enough time for god to act i mean after all he created the universe in six literal days he can take care of my marriage in six days right i mean that's how we look at it and so we get disturbed about this seeming silence from god you ever notice that we don't hear god speak we don't hear god answer we don't hear him do anything so we quit not knowing that sometimes god just wants to see how serious you really are about your prayers do you ever think about that do you ever think that god just is testing you to see how committed you are to doing what he says god never does anything without a purpose god never intervenes without a purpose god always has a perfect design we told you before it's always plan a there is no plan b in god's plan he's only got one plan that's always plan a it never is thwarted it never goes off track and god is one who answers and the text says listen the text says that when he answers he will answer speedily i love that look what it says it says in luke 18 verse number eight i tell you that he will bring about justice for them speedily what really speedily wait a minute i've been praying for god to answer something there's been no speed on his part let me tell you something let me illustrate that for you this way someone said to me today jesus is coming and i said no he's not i said yeah he is i said no he's not they said jesus is coming then i said no no he's not coming i said how could you say that i said because if he was coming he'd already be here because he comes in the twinkling of an eye jesus will come and jesus soon will come but don't tell me he's coming because it doesn't take him 2 000 years to get here from heaven if he's coming he comes in a twinkling of an eye we know that one day he will come we believe that we pray thy kingdom come that's why the saints under the altar in revelation 6 say how long oh lord how long because they know that the lord is coming they just don't know when right so when you look at it that way listen and when jesus decides to come it happens quicker than that because when he answers he answers swiftly it's not that he answers immediately it's that when he answers he answers swiftly and quickly when god decides to answer bang it happens and let me let me rephrase that because god doesn't decide to do anything he's already decided so you know if i say he decides to do something that means he's in the thought process where he's thinking about maybe i should do it today or maybe i should do it tomorrow no god is not in the thought process he has already determined everything that's going to happen because he's god he's sovereign he rules over all so when god answers it's always done quickly now in our time frame we think well i've been praying for this for a long time there's been no answer but remember god exists outside the realm of time we exist in the realm of time and so in those seeming moments of silence what is god doing in your life and in mine do you ever think that sometimes god answers with just a loving no you know i told you before you know i i love to say no four to six times a day i just love to say no and i like to say it to my kids no and that's not gonna happen nope not gonna happen why just so that i could prove to them i'm in charge okay and i can do what i want i'm the king of the house the answer is no i love to say no okay and you know because some people so many people just can't say no all they can say is yes and they're so mad they said yes they wish they could say no so practice saying no six times a day and then next thing you know you'll be saying no i'm not gonna do that you say oh you'll you'll feel so much freedom in your life you see but you know sometimes god answers with the loving aren't you glad god said no to the apostle paul when he asked three times for the thorn in the flesh to be removed and god said nope my grace is sufficient for you and god lovingly said i'm not going to do that because god had a plan for paul and that plan included humility and dependence and sometimes god just comes back and says no but you see god has said no but we're not willing to hear what he says so we just keep persisting persisting persisting and god said you know what that's not going to happen that way and paul understood that and paul realized that through his weaknesses he was at his absolute strongest because god was working in and through him and he wanted that more than he wanted the other but he learned that and sometimes god just answers with the loving no we're not going to do that sometimes god has a a bigger answer in store than what you're asking for do you ever think about that you're asking for something and god's got something bigger for you we get the illustration last week of zacharias and elizabeth when they asked for a child and god gave him a son when they were in their 80s because he didn't want to just give them another boy he wanted to give them the forerunner to the messiah john the baptist but one thing i forgot to remind you of last week and that was this that that when when zacharias didn't believe god shut his mouth for nine months because he didn't believe he couldn't speak if you're with us in luke one we told you that not only could he not speak he could not hear and we gave proof to that biblically as to what the word kofas means how he could not speak nor hear for nine months if you're willing to hear what i have to say you can't speak for me zacharias that's exactly what happened to god to zacharias through god in luke chapter one he just didn't believe god had something bigger for him he couldn't believe that god actually was going to do something better than what he asked god for could you imagine how quiet the church would be if that was true in your life and mine can you imagine that that god decided to do something bigger for you and because you didn't believe god said okay you can't talk until this happens this would be the quietest place you'd ever be in like a morgan here because for all reality we don't believe that god's got something better for us than what we're asking for but he does god's at work and that's how god is working in your life and mine one lady said this way unanswered yet nay do not say unanswered perhaps your part is not yet wholly done the work began when first your prayer was uttered and god will finish what he has begun keep incense burning at the shrine of prayer and glory shall descend sometime somewhere unanswered yet faith cannot be unanswered her feet are firmly planted on the rock amid the wildest storm she stands undaunted nor quails before the loudest thundershock she knows omnipotence has heard her prayer and cries it shall be done sometime somewhere the omnipotent god of the universe the all-powerful creator of the world hears your prayer i was sitting with the mcclain family at the graveside on thursday afternoon having lost three loved ones in eight and a half months and i read from to them from the book of jeremiah i'm sorry the book of isaiah chapter 27 which is why do you say oh jacob and assert oh israel my way is hidden from the lord and the justice do me escapes the notice of my god that's what israel said have you ever said that where is god in all this has he missed something has he been so busy with so and so's family that he has forgotten about my family does he no longer hear has he hidden his way from us and so god through the pen of the prophet isaiah had to redirect the thinking of israel about the character in nature of god aw told us that so well that no man's religion is ever greater than his concept of god who do you believe god is and and and so the lord was so good he he tells them who he is so they will understand that he has not hidden his way from them that he does listen to everything they say so listen to what isaiah says do you not know have you not heard have you not been listening you should know this the everlasting god the lord the creator of the ends of the earth stop right there the everlasting god the lord the creator he speaks of god's perennial presence he's everlasting he's always there he's never not there it speaks of his perennial power he is the lord and then he speaks of his perfect plan he is the creator of the ends of the earth the one who was always there the one who was all powerful to do whatever he wants when he's there is the one who is the master architect of all of life's events of all of life's activities he is the master creator of everything have you not heard have you forgotten that how easy it is we forget that he is everlasting that he is the lord that he is creator amidst our tragedies because we just can't wrap our arms around the fact that god would allow such devastation in my life such problem in my life such turmoil in my life then it goes on and says this this everlasting god the lord the creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired his understanding is inscrutable you're never going to get him you're never going to understand him because you can't he's he's infinite you are finite you're never going to get him no matter how hard you try you can't wrap your arms around him but he gives strength to the weary and to him who lacks might he increases power though yous go weary and tired and vigorous young men stumble badly yet those who wait for the lord will gain new strength they will mount up with wings like eagles they will run and not get tired they will walk and become and not become weary but you got to wrap yourself around him you got to wait upon the lord it's a hebrew word that means to to just wrap yourself around him and to hold on to him dearly that's how you gotta live your life you see the lord the everlasting god the creator that master architect of your situation wants you to wrap your arms around him and hold on for dear life that's what's gotta happen that's why god allowed it you're not holding on for dear life you must do that and until you do that tragedy will only look bleak to you it will never be seen as a blessing to you that's that's just so powerful that's what god does that's why over in psalm 147 i'm sorry 145 says this to all who call upon him i'm sorry verse 17 the lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his deeds okay he's righteous in all his ways so there is no way that god does what he does and it be unrighteous okay so what happens in oklahoma city this past week was not unrighteous it was righteous you got to believe that you have to understand what the bible says god never does anything unrighteously god always does things righteously he always has a purpose if you weren't with us on wednesday night you begin to understand why god allows tragedies and natural disasters to take place in the lives of people because he has things he wants to do in their lives if you weren't here get that cd so you can understand that it's important the lord is near to all those who call upon him do you believe that and then he qualifies it to all who call upon him in truth if you don't call upon him in truth guess what he's not near to those who call upon him how do you call upon the lord god in truth you call upon him in truth based on the nature of his existence who is he who is he he must who he comes to god must believe that he is and that he's the rewarder of those who diligently seek him he is the everlasting god he is the lord he is the creator the master architect of all things that's who he is you must call upon him in truth that is truth must permeate your life and you call upon him according to the word of truth that you hold in your hand and you'll experience the nearness of god he will fulfill the desires of those who fear him wow you believe that he only fulfills the desires of those who fear him not those who don't fear him so if you have a desire it's not being fulfilled one of two things is true one you don't fear god and two if you fear god your desires will always be his desires see that that's exactly how god works see we we we think of prayer as this thing that's kind of out there someplace but it's the reality of of our existence and we must know how to commune with the god of heaven and believe in everything that he says and god says i am your father i'm not like the wicked judge i'm not i'm not like the one who has no compassion or a concern for man and his condition and you're not like the the the widow who is persevering and persisting because she's needs vindication you have a name you're one of the elect ones you're one of the children that i have died for you are mine and because you are mine i want you to hear all that i have for you i want you to come to me i want you to beseech me he says very simply when the son of man comes will he find that kind of faith on the earth when he comes again is that going to be you is that the kind of person you're going to be persevering in prayer day and night wrapping yourselves around the lord god the creator of the world and beseeching him saying how long oh lord how long oh lord till you come again because in all reality our prayers are as strong as they are because we are anticipating the arrival of the messiah we wanted to come again which is the whole another aspect about what consumes our prayer life but may god give us the grace that we need to beseech his throne with persistence begging and pleading him to do what he says listen to the prophet isaiah isaiah 62 verse number six you who remind the lord take no rest to yourselves don't rest and give him no rest until he establishes and makes jerusalem a praise in the earth you who are beseeching the lord do not give up don't quit do not rest and don't let him rest in other words don't give god any rest from reminding him until jerusalem is the praise in all the earth in other words you are beseeching the throne of god until he comes again and he establishes his kingdom upon this earth and he rules and reigns for all eternity let me pray with you father we thank you for today and all that you do in our prayer lord is that we would be people of prayer committed to beseeching the throne of grace our prayer lord is that we would be convicted of our lack of prayer and that we would come boldly day and night unceasingly to the throne of grace that you might deal with us in a way that best is for us in your glory we love you lord we're so thankful that we can be a part of your glorious kingdom that we're not like a nameless widow who no one knows we're not you're not like a wicked judge who doesn't care you do care you want us to come and we are your children you are our father may we come before you and kneel before you in humble submission asking you to do a great and mighty work for that we pray in jesus name amen