Fervent and Steadfast

November 7

It is important to be fervent and steadfast in prayer. The inclination of most of us is not to press forward with our requests to the Lord but to stop short of the realization of the thing for which we supplicate. How is it that we give up rather than pray through? Why do we stop short of the answer to our prayer?

There is a mindset that has infested the Christian outlook and it is not scriptural. We have become so accustomed to the quick fix mentality, to the instant gratification syndrome of the age, that we apply the world’s mindset to the Word and to the promises contained within the Bible, our Holy Book.

We have forgotten the words of the Apostle Paul in II Thessalonians 1:11 which adjure us to, “…always pray… that our God will…fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith.” We are to always pray. It doesn’t say we are to pray until we weary of waiting! God wants us to "call to" Him for every need to be met (Jeremiah 33:3) so He can answer our call with "great and mighty things" we cannot imagine.

We must recognize that the Lord has a dual purpose for our prayers—to fulfill every desire for goodness within us and our circumstances and to accomplish the work of faith by showing us great and mighty things. As we pray, as we wait upon Him, we are perfected in the inner man and we are equipped to further His purposes in our lives and in the lives of those around us--and Jesus is glorified!