Persistent Prayer

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King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]

Date: Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Chapters: Luke Chapter 18
Message: Persistent Prayer

Hello My Friend,

When I was little, the most popular item for a girl was a necklace or bracelet with charms of little Bible pages, each one having one of the ten commandments on it. When I finally got a necklace, I was so excited, I would read through each one, and try to understand and follow them. However, it did not matter if it was even possible for me to follow every command, I was not saved at the time, so, not following one of them would have been the least of my problems, [John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.]

You see, the only way to God is through our faith in the Gospel of Christ, which is His sinless death, burial, and resurrection. The second we believe in the Gospel and accept Christ as our Saviour we can go to God with any request. While we are not always going to get everything we ask God for, that does not mean that we are to stop praying. There are some things that we lose out on because of unbelief, but that does not mean that we lose our salvation. There are some things that are not in God’s will for us, if we did get them, then it would be devastating on us. Nevertheless, we will receive far more than we could ever ask for.

[Luke 18:29-30  And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake,  30  Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.]

When we are saved and faithful to God, we are blessed with so much more than we could ask or think while we are here. I always picture God answering prayer from the perspective of a traffic light. Some of them, He gives us the green light and says, “Yes!”. Some of them, He gives us the yellow light, and says, “Not yet, but keep asking!” and the some He gives us the red light and says, “Stop! And do not ask me again!” Remember, what He told Moses when he asked Him to let him go into the promised land after He told him that he could not? [Deuteronomy 3:26  But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the LORD said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter.]

The revelations of Jesus concerning the last days of the world and His coming to Judge the world would naturally fill the disciples with some confusion, fear, and questions. It was evident that, with such knowledge they would need constant mercy, grace, discernment, protection from God, not to mention constant prayer. As we continue in the reading of the Gospels, and return to Luke, Jesus, through another parable, teaches us the important of persistent prayer.

[Luke 18:1-5  And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;  2  Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:  3  And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.  4  And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;  5  Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.]

[Though I fear not God, nor regard man;] This man was obviously unsaved and wanted nothing to do with God, but no doubt heard this woman mention God’s name a few times while she was persistent in her request. As he started thinking about it, she was never going to give up nor stop talking about her God so, he gave her what she wanted. How does this work with God? Think about it, our faith is not always so strong with God, and while we may be praying, it may not be convincing Him that we believe that He can do what we are asking Him, [Mark 11:23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.]

The more we ask God, the more our faith will increase and therefore, the moral of the story is to teach us that even when we are halfhearted in our prayers we need to be persistent and diligent, in spite of all the temptation to doubt what we are asking for. Well, Jesus explains it this way, [Luke 18:6-8  And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.  7  And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?  8  I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?]

[when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?] Sadly, when Jesus returns He is not going to find many on earth who have faith in Him. In fact, God, is not going to send Him back until the very last person to bow their head and accept Him as their Saviour does so. From the look of things going on all around the world that is not going to be much longer, [2 Peter 3:9-10  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.  10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.]

As Jesus was speaking, He noticed some men going up to the temple, one was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. Now, the people despised tax collectors because most of them increased their taxes only to keep a little for themselves, just like they do today. So, Jesus, spoke a parable relating to this matter and how we are not to pray.

[Luke 18:10-14  Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.  11  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  12  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.  14  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.]

[I thank thee, that I am not as other men] The one very important thing that I learned about praying is not to point out other people’s sins. While it is okay to talk to God about them, and ask Him to open their eyes that they might see their error, we need to be more concerned about our own sins, and must never put ourselves in a position that God needs to remind us of all the sins we have committed, [Matthew 7:1-2  Judge not, that ye be not judged.  2  For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.]

[for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased;] We need to be very careful that we also do not put ourselves in a position to where we think that we cannot fall into sin. I learned a very hard lesson on what happens when you think that you are strong enough in your faith that you cannot fall into sins that others have. Humility goes a long way with God, and He has no problem with humbling us, [James 4:8-10  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.  9  Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.  10  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.]

Now, as Jesus was speaking more and more believed in Him, especially when they discovered that He accepted them and it did not matter how sinful they were. People were coming from all over to be healed or cured, meanwhile the disciples were attempting some crowd control since they were getting close to Jerusalem. Some of the mother starting bringing their babies to Jesus, and for some reason the disciples were trying to stop them. That was when Jesus stepped in and rebuked them.

[Luke 18:15-17  And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.  16  But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.  17  Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.]

[Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not:] This is why one does not need to fear what happens to infants, little children, and the severely handicap who are in that same mindset if they die. There are none too little, too young, or even too mentally impaired to understand what sin is that Jesus cannot save. Jesus, knows how to show kindness, compassion, empathy, and salvation to those who are incapable of understanding right from wrong. For we must all be as little children to even accept Him at our accountable age. And to prove His point, there was a man in the crowd, known only as a rich ruler, He wanted to know what he needed to do in order to inherit eternal life.

[Luke 18:18-22  And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?  19  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.  20  Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.  21  And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.  22  Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.]

[Now when Jesus heard these things,] You see, it was never enough to know or even obey all the commandments that God had given, the most important thing was that they understood that eternal life had nothing to do with ones works, but their faith in God. This is why Jesus said that if he wanted eternal life then he needed to let go of the one thing that he was trusting in. Sadly, the right young man walked away and that left Jesus quite angry. And that prompted the disciples to ask who actually can be saved.

[Luke 18:23-27  And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.  24  And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!  25  For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.  26  And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?  27  And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.]

[when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.] This man was so concerned about letting go of everything that he had in order to inherit eternal life that he lost his life right then and there. Jesus, was not saying that no saved person can be rich or that no rich person can be saved, He was simply stating the fact that people rely too much on their own works and earthly securities that they do not see the need for Him, [Hebrews 4:2  For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.]

More often than we care to acknowledge the only option to receive something from God is to simply cry out to Him. We learn this when a blind man sitting on the side of the road, begging for money heard that Jesus was passing by. When he heard that Jesus was passing by he started crying out to Him.

[Luke 18:35-39  And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging:  36  And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant.  37  And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.  38  And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.  39  And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.]

[he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.] This man could not see a thing, but he sure knew who Jesus was without even asking anyone. We do not need to know everything there is to know about Jesus before we get saved, we just need to know and accept the Gospel and if we than He will have mercy on us, [Titus 3:5  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;]

When the people were telling him to be quiet the man yelled out for Jesus even louder, and that was what prompted Jesus to stop, [Luke 18:40-43  And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him,  41  Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.  42  And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.  43  And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.]

[What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?] So, how do we know that what we are praying for is in God’s will? The things we are asking for actually do need to line up with Scripture, so, we need to think about what we are asking Him for and that should give us the answer. God hears our prayers when we come to Him according to His Word, release the power of Holy Spirit to teach us what to pray for, and when we pray without ceasing.

[1 Thessalonians 5:16-24  Rejoice evermore.  17  Pray without ceasing.  18  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.  19  Quench not the Spirit.  20  Despise not prophesyings.  21  Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.  22  Abstain from all appearance of evil.  23  And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  24  Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.]

Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Luke 18:16  But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.]

Today’s Prayer: Jesus, There is such great power in Your name, which is why so many people cringe when we speak it. Just by speaking Your name, believing, a soul is saved, a prayer is answered, a life is changed. Now, we know that You answer prayers according to Your will, and Your time. Lord, Lead us and guide us, give us Your mercy, grace, and protection as we come to You in persistent prayer. Let us not become weary in well doing, or cease from praying, keep us encouraged, and looking to You so that we do not fall into temptation. Give us Your strength and power to get back up should we fall, and hold fast to all the good that You instill us with. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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