The Power Of Persistence

"After many days, the Word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, 'Go, show yourself to
 Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.'  So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab.  Now the famine
 was severe in Samaria...  Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down upon the
 earth and put his face between his knees and said to his servant, 'Go up now, look toward the sea.'
 And he went up and looked and said, 'There is nothing.'  Elijah said, 'Go again seven times.'  And at
 the seventh time the servant said, 'A cloud as small as a man's hand is arising out of the sea...'
 In a little while, the heavens were black with wind-swept clouds, and there was a great rain."
                                                                                                                       (1 Kings 18:1-2; 42-45)




The drought and famine had lasted three long years when God brought the promise of rain to Elijah.  This was the moment when Elijah would have to choose what he would do with this promise from the Lord.  Would he focus on the dire circumstances that surrounded him or would he continue to "pray and not lose heart" (Luke 18:1)?

Time continued to pass and still there was no rain.  Yet, Elijah persisted in his faith and expectant prayers that God would fulfill His promises.  After the seventh time of praying and looking for the rain, a small cloud finally appeared in the sky.  And after that, the deluge of rain ensued.

Elijah believed that God would do what He said He would do.  In addition to that belief, there were three things that Elijah understood about his role in God's plan:  that God's power was within him, that God's power would be released through his prayers, and that God would add His holy fire to Elijah's prayers in order to accomplish His purposes.

So he persisted.  And persisted.  And persisted.  He built himself "up in his most holy faith" (Jude 1:20), and he waited for God's timing.

Elijah understood that God was "able to do abundantly more than all [he] could ask or think according to the power that was at work within [him]" (Ephesians 3:20).

In this scripture, the Greek word for the word according is kata.  Kata means "to measure out".  This means that we are responsible for measuring out God's unlimited power and resources into the circumstances He has given into our hands.

We do this through our prayers.  As God's children, we have access to all the power and authority we will ever need to live victorious lives in Christ.  The book of Ephesians tells us that God "has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing (given by the Holy Spirit) in the heavenly realm!" (Ephesians 1:3). 

We receive our power from heaven and then release it on this earth.  When we truly understand who God is and who we are in Him, we will rise up and release that same power and authority into our circumstances.  Then, in faith and with expectancy, we stand strong until we see God move on our behalf. 

The book of Revelation tells us that God adds holy fire to our prayers.  In the fifth chapter, we are told that incense is added to the golden bowls in heaven, which are filled with the prayers of believers.  Then we are told that an "angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne.  And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints,

went up before God and out of the angel's hand.  Then the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightening and an earthquake" (Revelation 8:3-5).

If ever there were a time when the world needed God's fire, it is today.  We need God's fire to burn brightly within us.  Just as God is a consuming fire, we, too, can burn brightly for His glory.  Even while we wait.  Even when life is hard.

There are many believers today who are being tried and tested in their faith.  There is a special promise that God gives through the prophet, Zechariah, for such testing. God says, "I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested.  They will call on My Name and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are My people,' and they will say, 'The Lord is my God'" (Zechariah 13:9).

Persistence brings God's blessing to our lives.  The parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8) describes the difficulties believers will face in the last days.  Despite injustices, this parable teaches that prayer is a matter of faith and that as we wait on God's deliverance it will be our persistent prayers that sustain us.  Power is released from heaven when we persist!


"We can do nothing without prayer.  All things can be done by importunate prayer.  It surmounts or removes all obstacles, overcomes every resisting force and gains its ends in the face of invincible hindrances."
                                                                                                                                         E.M. Bounds

The Power of Proclamation

"Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.  And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, 'The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.'  And Gideon said to him, 'Please, sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?   And where are all His wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, "Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?"  But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of the Midian.'  And the Lord turned to him and said, 'Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of the Midian; do I not send you?'"
                                                                                                                       (Judges 6:11-14)




When the angel appeared to Gideon, his faith was not strong because of the distresses that Israel was experiencing.  His knees were wobbly and he could not reconcile the assurances God was speaking to him.  Circumstances and past experiences clouded the vision of this man of God.

Gideon's wavering response did not deter the angel.  God proclaimed to Gideon that: He was with him, Gideon was a mighty man of valor, and that Gideon would deliver the Israelites from the hands of their enemy (the Midianites).  This proclamation began to set the wheels in motion...

As believers, God has given us tremendous power to proclaim His Word.  We carry both the privilege and the responsibility of doing so.  The book of Proverbs tells us that "life and death are in the power of the tongue" (Proverbs 18:21).   As we proclaim God's Word, we are releasing God's creative and transforming power into the situations we are facing.

There are two related words in the New Testament that are used:  one is "to confess" and the other is "to proclaim".  Confession is stating words that line up with the Word of God, which then brings the full backing and authority of Jesus.  This is because God is always ready to back up His Word when we pray in accordance with God's will.

Proclamation is a confession made aggressive.  It means: "to announce, to declare, to decree, to pronounce, and to herald."  This is an area of spiritual development that changes the heart of man and releases a change in the spiritual realm.

This is a form of spiritual warfare.  Proclamation is the most effective way to release God's power into a situation.  When we echo prophetic promises and blessings we should stand with the expectation of supernatural intervention.  Unwavering faith, combined with proclamation from God's Word and the Holy Spirit will bring powerful results (in God's timing, of course).

Please note that this is not advocating a recent "name it and claim it" theology.  It is simply seeking God's guidance and wisdom relating to us and coming into agreement with what God shows us and then heralding those truths.  It is commanding light into dark places by the power and authority of God's Word.

Let's look at the example we find in David's life.  When Goliath began to taunt David, he said "'Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks?'  And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.  The Philistine said to David, 'Come to me and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field'" (1 Samuel 17:43-44).

David stood firm against Goliath's taunts and he made a proclamation over the curse that had been spoken.  David said, "You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head.  And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear.  For the battle is the Lord's and He will give you into our hand" (1 Samuel 17:45-47).

David's proclamation set the stage for the victory that was to follow.  Like David, we are also to take hold of God's Word and exercise the authority He has given to us.  As we memorize and meditate and declare Scripture over our circumstances, it will build our faith, shatter our negative thinking, and prepare a path for victory.

Here are some practical declarations we can use:

Health and Strength

Psalm 29:11
"The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace."

Proverbs 4:20-23
"My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.  Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.  For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life."

Protection and Guidance

Psalm 121:7-8
"The Lord will keep me from all harm, He will watch over my life; the Lord will watch over my coming and going both now and forevermore."

Nahum 1:7
"The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble.  He cares for those who trust in Him."

God's Assistance

2 Chronicles 20:6
"O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not the God wo is in heaven?  You rule over the kingdoms of the nations.  Power and might are in Your hand, and no one can withstand you."

Family

Joshua 24:15
"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Wisdom

Job 12:13
"With God are wisdom and might; He has counsel and understanding."

Testing and Trials

Jeremiah 17:7-8
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is in the Lord.  He is like a tree planted by water, that sends its roots out by the stream, and does not fear when the heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit."

Spiritual Conflict

Psalm 35:1-3
"Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me!  Take hold of shield and buckler and rise for my help!  Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers!  Say to my soul, 'I am your salvation!'"

Peace

Isaiah 26:3
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You."



"For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it  (Isaiah 55:10-11). 
    

Purpose and Power in Prayer

"Effective prayer is prayer that attains what it seeks.  It is prayer that moves God, effecting its end."
                                                                   Charles Finney




During the nineteenth century, Charles Finney's ministry surged across the American terrain like an unrestrained tsunami.  He is widely acknowledged today as one of America's foremost evangelists and its greatest revivalist.  It was Finney that marched this country out of the eighteenth century and facilitated the conversion of more than a half a million people without the assistance of technology or mass communication.

Finney's revivals sparked the Second Great Awakening and are largely responsible for the country being called a Christian nation.  He rallied the country around the Bible and the power of prayer.  His style of evangelism has influenced many, including Dwight L. Moody and Billy Graham.

When asked about the secrets of success regarding his ministry, Charles Finney attributed his effectiveness to prayer.  He was very deliberate in how he prayed, what he prayed, and co-laboring with the Holy Spirit in his prayer.  These ingredients are what gave him both the strategy and the power to see a mighty move of God.

Faith was an essential ingredient in Finney's prayer life, as was the Word of God.  When the Scriptures tell us that "whoever believes in Me [Jesus] will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do because I am going to the Father.  Whatever you ask in My Name, this will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask Me anything in My Name, I will do it" (John 14:12-14), Finney took God at His Word.

He believed there are two major mistakes we make when we pray: we pray too small and we pray too generally.  Specific answers require praying with specificity.  Mighty moves of God require big faith and knowing how big God is.  We do not have to fight for our victory; we are already fighting from a position of victory.

Too often in our lives we pray from a defensive position instead of an offensive one.  During these days in which we live we need to be aggressive in our prayers- for our families, our communities, and our nation.  We are definitely in a war and that requires committed warriors who are submitted and obedient to the will of God.

The caveat to being a warrior is that we also must be immersed in God's love.  Belligerence is not God's way.  Jesus said, "By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35).

Charles Finney describes such an encounter  He said, "The Holy Spirit descended upon me in a manner that seemed to go through me, body and soul.  I could feel the impression, like a wave of electricity, going through and through me.  Indeed it seemed to come in waves and waves of liquid love; for I could not express it any other way.  It seemed like the very breath of God..."

Truly experiencing God's love transforms our prayers from being a needs based endeavor into becoming relationally based communication with God.  As we acknowledge that God's power and authority is far above our own, we know that we can fully trust and depend on Him to meet our needs.  When our hearts become aligned to the very heartbeat of Christ, we understand that all things important are related to His kingdom, His power, and His glory.  In other words, it becomes all about Him.

America desperately needs a prayer revival.  This revival will first start in the lives of individual believers.  Leonard Ravenhill, author of Why Revival Tarries, expounds on this precept.  He says, "God can move mountains but prayer moves God."

One of the prayers that Charles Finney prayed daily was that God would lead him to the person who was the nearest to death so that he could lead them to the Cross.  Daily, God honored this prayer.  Almost daily, Finney saw new converts added to God's kingdom.

We have been given authority to pray big prayers.  Our responsibility is to rule this earth through prayer.  Oswald Chambers said, "Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work."

God has an agenda for every aspect of our lives and for every person in our lives.  He calls us to lay hold of His promises and to persist until we see the answers materialize or until we see Jesus face to face.  The rest is up to Him.

We all should have several things and people for which we are standing in the gap.  Our strength comes from our joy which comes from our prayer.  This is what strengthens our inner man with might and gives us both purpose and power in our prayer!


Dear Heavenly Father,
Help us to put on holiness, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience...  forgiving one another and binding us in love which brings perfect harmony.  Let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts and help us to be thankful.  Let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly, teaching and admonishing us in all wisdom.  Help our actions (word and deed) to be in Christ Jesus as we give thanks to the Father through Him ( Colossians 3:12-17).

Put Your Spirit upon us and Your Words within us and our offspring from this time forth and forevermore (Isaiah 59:21).

Help us to seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness (Matthew 6:33) and to go forth making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Help us to observe all that You have commanded us to do and to teach others to do the same.  Thank you that You are with us always. (Matthew 28:19-20).

We give You all the praise, glory, and honor in Jesus' Name (1 Peter 1:7).  Amen.

Transforming Faith

"Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible.  There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible.  Faith begins where man's power ends."
                                                                                                                     George Muller




Each one of us carries within us a God-sized dream.  It may relate to our family, or business, or ministry.  Whatever it is, if it is from God, it extends beyond our natural ability and will require a deepening of our faith.  In fact, our God-sized dream will often involve a fight of faith that transforms us in the process.

When God places a dream in our hearts, there is almost always a time of testing and trials.  This occurs so that we know with certainty that it is God's dream and not our own.  Additionally, our character must match the dream God has given us.  Most of the time we don't easily recognize the weaknesses in ourselves that need to be strengthened. But God does, and He is faithful to complete the work He begins in us.

Shortly after God gave Joseph a dream about his life, he was dropped in a pit, sold as a slave, taken to Egypt, and bought by Potiphar.  And that was when his troubles really began!  Over time, however, Joseph was sustained by God's power and he remained faithful under fire.

He perservered despite being trapped, imprisoned, and forgotten.  He learned that God's power was greater than anything that could be done to him.  Objectivity and faithfulness emerged in the midst of pressure and hard times.  He recognized that God is not restricted by our circumstances and that God can even cause us to flourish even as bad things are happening to us.

When God is the owner of our dream, our destiny can never be thwarted by another person.  He is the author and the center around which all things move.  He will allow us to be broken at times, however, so that we will wholly become available to Him.  He will bring our dream to fruition as we surrender to Him, wait for His timing, and quit fighting the trajectory He has established for our lives.

Humility and meekness will allow us to receive God's grace and even to enjoy the difficult times and places of our journey.  We will discover our voice, and calling, and begin to visualize the path laid out before us. During the times when we feel "stuck", we realize that we are not yet ready for our dream to be actualized.

There are phases in our faith that we experience as we walk out our dream.  The five phases are: Encumbrance, Enduring, Expectant, Entrenched, and Enthusiastic.  All of these phases are fluid and have gently and lovingly been filtered through God's fingers so they may produce the harvest in our lives that God is seeking.

Phase one is some type of encumbrance.  It may be a problem we are encountering or possibly an obstacle to what we perceive God is calling us to do.  It is under the weight of this pressure that we either run from what God is calling us to do or we resolve to go deeper in our walk and seek God more completely.

Phase two is enduring faith.  This is where we begin to practice patience along with our faith.  The book of Hebrews tells us that the purpose in this is so that we will be "imitators of those who through faith [lean on God with absolute trust and confidence in Him and in His power] and by patient endurance [even when suffering] are [now] inheriting the promises" (Hebrews 6:12).

Phase three is expectant faith.  This is when we begin to take God at His Word with no visible evidence.  We stand on God's Word and expect that He is faithful and He is able to complete all that He has spoken concerning us.

Phase four is a faith that is entrenched.  This means that somehow God will confirm His Word and promise to us.  It may come through the Scriptures, a sermon, or a prophetic word or prayer.  Whenever we seek answers and guidance, God promises us that He will provide them.

Phase five is enthusiastic faith.  This is when we see God's promises fulfilled and we begin to walk out the dream that God has given to us.  We are jubilant and cannot wait to share with others what God has done!

There are so many benefits to living a life of faith that is all-encompassing.  John Wesley, founder of the Methodist church, describes it this way: "True Christian faith fulfills man's desires to perceive the eternal.  It gives him a more extensive knowledge of all things invisible.  Living faith introduces him to what the eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, nor the heart conceived in the clearest light, with the fullest certainty and evidence.  Knowing these benefits, who could not wish for such a faith?  With faith comes not only this awareness, but also the fulfillment of the promise of holiness and happiness."

Everything about this kind of faith focuses on Jesus.  We begin to grow in Christ and inevitably become closer to Him.  The result is maturity that is displayed in a Christ-centered life.

This is the faith that transforms us.  It is faith that has the depth to allow the Cross to accomplish its perfect work within us.  The outflow will be the fulfillment of our God-sized dream that will be a blessing to others! So... Dream Big!!!


   "Faith is to believe what we do not see.  The reward of this faith is to see what we believe."
                                         Augustine (354-430), bishop of Hippo