One of the hardest aspects of praying long term is perseverance. Especially in today's society of immediate results, our patience muscle is sorely lacking exercise. Our food, our clothing, our shopping, our work-everything is structured to be quick and easy. You can even watch your favorite TV shows on one site condensed to about five minute clips. Cliff notes for TV. Who would have thought?
Well, persevering in prayer isn't easy. It takes constant commitment and recommitment. And the key to praying long term for our unbelieving loved ones is persistence. Even to the point of peskiness, if need be. Most of the parables have an underlying theme of perseverance, persistence, and even peskiness in some cases. (Check out Luke 18 for the parable of the persistent widow.)
Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. – 1Timothy 4:15-16 (NIV)
On day four of our fasting journey, ask God to help you to persevere in praying for your loved ones in 2009 like you never have before. Sit down with a notebook and write down the names of those you feel led to pray for (putting your spouse at the top of the list, of course!). They pray, asking God to show you what to pray for. Then pray and believe it-every day. When you doubt, go back to that notebook, remember sitting and praying for this leading, and hold on to that simple moment as truth that God is working. Why else would he tell you to pray what he did?
At the beginning of our fast, God impressed upon me to pray for my hubby to become the godly man God created him to be. I will move forward praying this prayer, even when circumstances seem unchanged or even more disparate between us. And if I have to, I will become pesky, asking God for this. After all, he told me to.
Lynn will be back tomorrow with more wonderful advice about praying and fasting. Be sure to check out the links in the sidebar if you need guidance. And let me just say, it's an honor to be praying and fasting with and for you this week. Seeing the body of Christ in action is an amazing thing-one my family and I have witnessed frequently over the past few months and just recently in regards to a homeless family. But that's a story for another day.
Praying and believing,
Dineen
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