Morning prayer began with a time of worship…
Erika shared…
This last week these words kept coming up on the inside of me—“persistent prayer.” How many know we need some persistent prayer right now? But we have to know what persistent prayer is in order to do it. When that word “persistent” kept coming to me, I thought I better figure out where it was in the Bible. There are a lot of translations of the Bible. Persistent might be in one version and not in another. So I went on a journey in my Bible to find it.
Let’s read Acts 12:1: “Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church.” How many know there is some harassment going on against the Church of the living God? It comes in various forms and like Herod, somebody is stretching out their hands to harass the Church.
Verse 2 continues: “Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3 And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. 4 So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover. 5 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.” Say “Constant.”
The Amplified Bible says, “So Peter was kept in prison but fervent prayer for him was persistently made to God by the church assembly.”
The King James says, “Peter therefore was kept in prison but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.”
The Message Bible says, “All the time that Peter was under heavy guards in the jail house, the church prayed for him most strenuously.
New King James says, “Peter was therefore kept in prison but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.”
The Amplified Bible uses the word “fervent.” What does the word “fervent” mean? It’s compared to zeal, which means “to see through, living fervor, fiery hot, full of burning zeal.” This is the opposite of dignified, cold, and unemotional. In a Christian context, it signifies high spiritual temperature enflamed by the Holy Spirit. How many know we need prayers that are enflamed by the Holy Spirit “of a high spiritual temperature, persistent, or to persist, to continue steadily or firmly in some state, purpose, cause of action, or the like, especially in spite of opposition.” How many know it’s easy to pray when there is no opposition? It’s easy to last or endure with no opposition.
The Amplified Bible also uses the word “persistent,” which means “constantly repeated, continued, remaining beyond the normal time.” We run things a certain way in the prayer ministry at Living Word. We have our hour-long prayer group, but there are times that we need to carry some things over to the next time we pray. Persistent prayer goes beyond the normal length of time. Maybe you have to pick it up next week. Maybe you have to pick it up in your own prayer closet. Persistent prayer goes beyond the normal length of time.
The King James Bible uses the phrase “without ceasing” which is to say “unceasing” prayer. What is unceasing prayer? “Un” is a prefix meaning “not,” and “cease” is “to stop, discontinue, or come to an end.” Unceasing prayer is prayer that doesn’t come to an end.
The Message Bible uses the word “strenuously,” which means “vigorous, energetic, zealously active, characterized by or requiring vigorous exertion.” Now does that mean to be loud and jumping around? No. You could be praying with vigorous exertion while laying on your bed, not moving a muscle. Are you with me? Vigorous exertion comes by the Holy Ghost.
The New King James Bible uses the word “constant,” which means “not changing or varying, continuing without pause or let up, regular, recurrent, faithful, steadfast, resolute.” If we’re going to be constant in prayer, that means we’re going to prevail in prayer.
If we read further in the story about Peter, what happened? An angel came and got him out of prison. The Church prayed until they got an answer to their prayers. So we, too, should look for answers. We’re not just praying to say we did. E.M. Bound says “If you’re not looking for an answer, why are you praying?”
Prevailing means “predominantly, having superior power or influence, effectual.” That’s what we’re looking for. We’re not looking to spin our wheels and say we prayed and then we just go home. We’re looking for effectual prayer. Now how are we going to do that? We do it by the Holy Ghost.
Wesley Duel said about prevailing: “To prevail is to successfully in the face of difficulty to completely dominate, to overcome and triumph. Prevailing prayer is prayer that pushes right through all difficulties and obstacles, drives back all the opposing forces of Satan, secures the will of God. Its purpose is to accomplish God’s will on earth. Prevailing prayer is prayer that not only takes the initiative but continues on the offensive for God until spiritual victory is won.”
The Devil doesn’t really care if you start a prayer; he doesn’t really care if you start anything. Because it’s in the finishing, isn’t it? It’s in finishing what God has said. You can determine to have an all-night prayer meeting. You can start out strong, but by 3 o’clock… zzzz.
Wesley Duel said, “Prevailing prayer only prevails through the prevailing spirit.” That means the Holy Spirit has to be the most important element in the prayer. He has to be the one that inspires it, that initiates it, that executes it through you, that leads you all the way through, that strengthens you to prevail. So that means we have to be filled with the Spirit. And we also have to be filled with the Word so that the Holy Spirit has something to work with. How’s He going to work with you if you don’t have the Word in you? How’s He going to bring to you a Word that you need to stand on concerning a situation? Prevailing prayer is not a work of man, it is a work of the Holy Spirit in you and through your cooperation.
Samuel Chadwick confessed, “The biggest thing God ever did for me was to teach me to pray in the Spirit.” No one ever became a man or woman of prayer except through the Holy Spirit. How can you prepare His ways so the Spirit can intercede and prevail in prayer through your being? You must recognize that you are far too weak in prayer to prevail. But you can rejoice, for the Spirit helps us in our infirmities. That’s probably the greatest prayer I ever pray: “Help me, Lord, I need Your help to do this.” Again and again, you will confess with Paul, “Lord, I do not know how to pray as I ought. I do not know precisely what all the details are for which I should prevail.”
Now the Church needs to know more than ever the details of what we need to prevail about in the prayer assignment that He gives us. We just keep pressing by the Holy Ghost. We keep on until we see a change. Is it okay if when we see a little change and we say, “That’s pretty good. We got about 85% of that done.” No. Our goal is 100%. Right?
The Spirit Himself intercedes for you with groans too deep for you ever to be able to express. He has infinite groanings. The Spirit wants to make you mighty to prevail for them. God has no other way. He has ordained to bring His will to pass through your prevailing—joined to the prevailing intercession of God, the Son on heaven’s throne of grace, and God the Spirit. The Spirit longs to possess you more and more fully that He may pray through you. God desires to help you mediate the light of the Gospel and the saving power of Jesus Christ through your prayer. In redemption, there is only one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. But God needs thousands, probably more like millions, of cooperating intercessory mediators today. By your prevailing prayer, you place one hand on the throne of grace and the other on the need of the world. Moses did. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel did. Will you? Luther did. Wesley and Whitfield did. Finny, Brainerd and Hyde. Will you?
Prayed…
Prevailing and persistent prayer by the Holy Ghost
Father, we want that in the Church
Father, we want to prevail in prayer, in the power and the anointing of the Holy Ghost
We want to see situations and change to a degree and magnitude we haven’t seen for a long time
We’re looking for great advancement in that regard
Doors opened, gates unlocked in the name of Jesus
It’s only by Your Spirit that prevailing prayer can come forth
Fervent white hot prayer
Not by might but by Your Spirit
We look to the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us into all truth
In step and in sync with the Holy Spirit
Clearing pathways into cities
Roads that have been blocked, we ask for Your assistance to prevail in those places
It comes by revelation
A turnover in the finances
There is more fire to be had in the Church of God
More unceasing prayer to be made by the Church
We must be persistent when praying for government leaders
