Pastor began by introducing the theme for the month and he explained to us that while we are expected to keep our fervency, there is a need to be persistent in the place of prayer and not losing hope.
He told us to be enthusiastic to serve the Lord, keeping our passion toward him boiling hot! Radiate with the glow of the Holy Spirit and let him fill you with excitement as you serve him. Let this hope burst forth within you, releasing a continual joy. Don’t give up in a time of trouble, but commune with God at all times.
Romans 12:11-12 TPT
Luke 18:1
It is not expected that we be praying and fainting at the same time.
We are not to lose heart and give up when we praybut keep our hopes alive.
Ephesians 6:18, 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT)
By way of introduction, Pastor encouraged us and challenged us not to give up on God regardless of what we may be encountering because God will not give up on us.
We may be at a phase in our life which may be very challenging, the easiest thing that comes to people’s mind is to give up, lose heart and faint.
In Luke 18 Jesus told his disciples that there is a possibility for a man to give up but he showed them the other side of the coin that it is better to pray than choose to faint. He showed them that if a man faints he is not going to be able to pray.
While many are struggling. There is a tendency for men to want to give up. We are in a time and season that giving up may be an option for many. Jesus said in Luke 18:1 that “men ought to pray.” Men must not give up. It’s like two sides of a coin.
One of the reasons why men will easily give up is because we are losing the culture of prayer, the ability to be patient and persistent in prayer. One of the things God wants to do with us this season is to challenge us and bring us to the place of prayer, back to the altar, a place where we can actually hold on to God.
There is a possibility for men not to be able to deliver the plans and purposes of God for their life, just because they have not learned or embraced the dealings and training of the father that can actually help them to build capacity and grow and develop in the virtue of patience and persistence in the place of prayer.
Sometimes it may look as if there is a delay, as if there is no trace of God in the situation but we have learned to trust God. At this point, it’s time to hold on.
At this point in Christendom it seems as if there is more revelation that is competing with our heart, longing to stay and find a place of succour before the Father. You can explain away certain things because of knowledge but the culture of prayer will never fade. This is what is known as tarrying, waiting on God.
You can never be joyful and be persistent in hope if you are not persistent in prayer. There is a place to run to, that place is a place of prayer, where we meet and commune with the father. It’s beyond a place where we request and ask for things. It’s a place of devotion, communion with the father, strength is supplied. You go into prayer weary but come out with the strength of Jehovah. You go in confused and come out with clarity.
You have a choice. You must learn how to embrace the culture of prayer and the training and dealings of the father. You must learn how to be diligent and persistent in the place of prayer and that’s the way to renew hope and survive the storms of life and emerge victorious.
Be joyful in hope. Joy is a resource for a believer. It should not be hinged on things or situations. We are not actually instructed to be happy in scriptures because happiness is dependent on some factors, we are instructed to be joyful.
What hope do we have that gives us confidence to be joyful?
We have hope that we have a father, that he has done us well, all things will work together for our good, that he will show up, not give up on us. When you understand the possibilities of God it should give you hope and in that hope you draw strength that gives you joy.
Rejoice in the Lord, this is the reason why one can be patient in affliction.
Rejoice in the Lord and I say rejoice…, is the reason a man will be patient in affliction. Such a man will say that his life will not end up the way it is.
Not being joyful in hope makes a man not to be persistent in faith. Our hope must be kept alive in Him.
The scriptures says if only we have hope in this world, we are of all men most miserable.
God’s power and possiblity is what makes our hope alive in Him.
When we remember he’s with us. We know that He is coming back again. We are not going to give up on him. We must hold on to God for all that He has promised us and what He has ordained us for.
We have categories of christians, using the analogy of a wall clock. The 12’0 clock, 6:30 and 6’0 clock. The believer who maximizes God’s grace here on earth to excel and has his heart fixed on the father’s kingdom is the one who does it better.
We must live well. We must represent all that the Father has said. We all need a huge chunk of faith.
Jesus said He has overcome the world for us. There is no soft life anywhere.
We must be joyful in hope. Hope here means different areas of our lives we are expecting. That our neighbours have testimony to share means the Lord is in the neighbourhood.
We must be joyful in hope.
Rejoice with those that rejoice. Be joyful in hope. We must not hide our faces.
The only reason why a man will be joyful in affliction is because he is joyful in hope.
We must stay joyful and be patient with God. We must follow the scriptures. This generation needs to imbibe the culture of waiting. This is also found among believers.
The Bible said there are people who through faith of the gospel inherit the promise. Hardly will we see believers keep praying and waiting on God for some matters.
Hebrews 6:12
Be joyful in hope.
The only reason why a man will be patient in affliction is because he is joyful in hope. And the only reason why a man can be persistent in prayer is because he is joyful in hope. So no one can be joyful in hope or patient in affliction if he is not persistent in prayer. And you can also turn it around.
So the message to us is the fact that stay joyful, be patient with God. The Bible spoke about men who through faith and patience obtain the promises. We are losing that culture of patience and persistence in the body of Christ. This generation has to sit down and learn again how to be rooted and build up in this virtue of patience and persistence in our walk with the Lord. That culture is fading away. We must learn it so that we can give birth to all the purposes of God written to our name so that you can download all the possibilities of God. So that you don’t give up before God shows up.
Don’t give up on God, wait for him till he shows up in your life. Don’t give up on God, God will not give up on you. Wait on God. We must build tenacity and resilience in the place of prayer and in our walk with the father. We must not be in a hurry to give up on our dreams and visions.
The reason why a man will be patient with the Lord is that he knows what the Lord wants to do. And you won’t know what God wants to do if you are not persistent in prayer. So. What keeps a man rejoicing even while he is waiting is that he has heard and seen God. Just like Moses so the ego chose to leave the palace and despise the wrath of the king, just to please God. Hebrews 11:27.
When men are running helter skelter, the only reason you will not run is because you have heard God. You have seen what they have not seen. You have entered to the place of the peace of God that passeth all understanding, knowing it is keeping your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.
So you can come out and smile even when ordinarily there is nothing to show but you are joyful because you are hopeful in what God has revealed to you. You now have strength and capacity to stay in the place of prayer that you will not give up until God shows up,until you receive your answer. You’re going to wait on God.
2 Corinthians 4:17 MSG: ” These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us.”
That is the only reason a man can be joyful in hope. You know what is coming for you. You know what God is doing. You coming to a place of knowing that you no longer need to be encouraged.
We draw our hope from what God has in stock for us.And this hope gives us joy and this joy keeps us going even in battles of life and that is the reason we can stay in the place of prayer consistently.
In conclusion, all the promises of God for our life will materialise if we don’t give up on God and we quit the place of prayer and the culture of waiting/tarrying on God.