Day 16: Repeated Prayers
Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. âGo and look toward the sea,â he told his servant. And he went up and looked.
âThere is nothing there,â he said. Seven times Elijah said, âGo back.â
The seventh time the servant reported,
âA cloud as small as a manâs hand is rising from the sea.â
1 Kings 18:42-44
I believe I first heard about the concept of repeated prayers from Lukeâs Gospel, chapter 18, known by some as âThe Parable of the Persistent Widow.â In Luke 18, Jesus tells a story about a powerless widow being treated unjustly. This powerless widow persistently asks the unjust judge to give her justice. The judge doesnât care for her, but to get her to stop nagging him, he finally grants her request. Then Jesus explains, Your Good Heavenly Father responds to His children who cry out to Him day and night for justice. So, I thought I understood that I am to keep praying.
But it wasnât until Mark Batterson pointed out to me the concept of persistent prayer that I seemed to really get itâKeep praying until God answers, Batterson seems to say over and over in his book, The Circle Maker. Batterson points out that Elijah prayed seven times for it to rain. Batterson asks, âWhat if Elijah stopped praying after prayer number 6?â[1]
We must keep praying until God answers. And He always answers. Sometimes He gives a clear, âNo.â Sometimes, God answers with a beautiful, âYes.â And sometimes, He answers, âWait.â But He does answer our prayers. I want faith like John Calvinâs, âWe must repeat the same supplications not twice or three times only, but as often as we have need, a hundred and a thousand timesâŚ. We must never be weary in waiting for Godâs help.â[2]
George Mueller, a mighty and righteous man of prayer, prayed daily for two friends to know Jesus Christ for fifty-two years. Both of them became disciples of Jesus after George died. Jesus says, âI tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.â Luke 15:10 I imagine George Mueller was celebrating win the angels of God over his two friends that entrusted themselves to Jesus.
You can celebrate Godâs answers, too. But youâll have to start writing them down, dating them, and persistently going back and praying over them again and again, until God gives you an answer.
Prayerwork, Part 1: I think one way to ânever grow weary in waiting for Godâs help,â is to date your prayers and then go back and re-pray them. Go back to the list you made yesterday. Pray over the filled in blanks, again. Do this at least once a week, but youâre also allowed to pray for them every day for fifty-two years if need be.
Prayerwork, Part 2: As you read a Psalm or two today, look for how the Psalms repeat themes of prayer to God. Also, continue to pray and turn your attention to God throughout the day. See if you can pray to God and ask Him to intervene during a conversation today. And then pray silently to God, while youâre having the conversation. Be sure to record the results of your prayer-filled conversation with a date in your journal.
Prayerwork, Part 3: Tomorrow, weâre going to be spending a little bit more concentrated time in prayer, so set your alarm for about ten minutes earlier than usual.
âBut if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.â
Romans 8:25