SHAMELESS PERSISTENCE

LUKE 11:8
But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.


WHILE DRIVING TO WORK THIS MORNING I WAS PRAYING A LITTLE ON WHAT MY DEVOTION FOR TODAY WOULD BE ON.  I WAS LISTENING TO MY JOEL OSTEEN SERMON AND HE KEPT TALKING ABOUT BEING PERSISTENT WITH PRAYER AND BEING SHAMELESS WHILE PRAYING.  I KEPT LISTENING ALL THE WAY AND FINALLY GOT TO WORK, PULLED IN AND THE SERMON ENDED.  I TURNED OFF MY PHONE AND GOT OUT MY BIBLE.  I TURNED TO TODAY’S DAILY DEVOTION FOR APRIL AND I STARTED READING.  THE DEVOTION FOR THE DAY WAS EXACTLY WHAT JOEL OSTEEN HAD PREACHED ON AND EVEN INCLUDED A VERSE FROM LUKE THAT REFERENCED “SHAMELESS PERSISTENCE.”  I KNEW IN A SKINNY MINUTE THAT WAS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO TALK ABOUT FOR THE DAY. 

Psalms 88:13


O Lord, I cry out to you.  I will keep on pleading day by day.
WHAT IS “SHAMELESS PERSISTENCE?”  SHAMELESS MEANS WITHOUT SHAME AND PERSISTENCE MEANS CONTINUED EFFORT.  PRAYING WITH “SHAMELESS PERSISTENCE” SIMPLY MEANS “WITHOUT SHAME & CONTINUED EFFORT.”  WHY DO YOU THINK WE NEED TO BE PERSISTENT WITH OUR PRAYERS?  DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER AND YOU WOULD SAY THE FOLLOWING PRAYER, “NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP, I PRAY THE LORD MY SOUL TO KEEP….?”  WE PRAYED THAT SWEET LITTLE PRAYER EVERY SINGLE NIGHT JUST BEFORE WE DOZED OFF TO SEE HOW MANY WHITE SHEEP WERE BOUNCING ON FLUFFY WHITE CLOUDS!! 



MATTHEW 7:11


So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him?


BUT DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT IS ALL GOD WANTS TO HEAR, IS THAT THE ONLY TIME GOD WANTS US TO TALK TO HIM OR SHOW HIM WE CARE?  I THINK NOT!  IT IS MERELY AN AWARENESS OF PRAYER FOR A YOUNGSTER ON HOW TO START TALKING TO GOD, BUT DON’T LEAVE IT THERE.  CHILDREN ARE VERY CURIOUS AND THEY ARE VERY REPETITIVE.  IF THEY SEE YOU TALKING TO YOURSELF OVER AND OVER THEY ARE GOING TO ASK, “WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?”  THEY ARE VERY CURIOUS AND INQUISITIVE.  TELL THEM WHO YOU ARE TALKING TO, GOD, AND TELL THEM WHY AND HOW YOU TALK TO HIM.  LET THEM PRACTICE!  ASK THEM WHAT IS BOTHERING THEM AND TELL THEM TO TALK TO GOD AS IF HE WERE SITTING RIGHT BESIDE THEM. 



HEBREWS 11:6


And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.


MY DAUGHTER HAS A STUFFED BABY DOLL THAT SHE GOT WHEN SHE WAS BORN, MY DAD AND STEPMOM GAVE IT TO HER AND SHE STILL CARRIES IT EVERYWHERE TO THIS DAY, ALMOST 10 YEARS LATER.  SHE HAS LEARNED FROM ME WRITING DEVOTIONS AND READING THEM HERSELF THE IMPORTANCE OF CHATTING WITH GOD QUITE FREQUENTLY, BUT ESPECIALLY AT BEDTIME TO HINDER ALL THE BOOGIE MONSTERS AWAY.  ONE DAY SHE APPROACHED ME AND SAID, “MOM I FEEL ODD TALKING TO SOMEONE I CANNOT SEE.”  I TOLD HER I KNEW EXACTLY HOW SHE FELT AND WHEN I DRIVE I PRAY, BUT SOMETIMES I DON’T WANT TO LOOK FOOLISH SO I WILL HOLD MY CELL PHONE TO MY EAR AS IF I AM ON A PHONE CALL, BUT IN REALITY I AM TALKING TO GOD.   WHATEVER IT TAKES TO KEEP THE COMMUNICATION OPEN BETWEEN YOU AND GOD ON A CONSTANT BASIS!!  SO MY DAUGHTER NAMED HER BABY “GOD BABY” AND SHE SITS HER UP ON THE PILLOW AT NIGHT AND GETS SO EXCITED TO HAVE HER CHAT WITH GOD.  ONE NIGHT I WALKED IN AND SHE SAID “LISTEN TO ME PRAY MOM!”  SO I SAT DOWN AND LISTENED FOR WHAT SEEMED LIKE FOREVER AS SHE MERELY WENT DOWN THE ENTIRE LIST OF EVERY SINGLE PERSON SHE KNOWS “I PRAY FOR MOM, I PRAY FOR DAD, I PRAY FOR GAMMY, I PRAY FOR REX, I PRAY FOR HUNTER, OVER & OVER.”  I STOPPED HER AND I SAID, “BRAY THAT IS AWESOME BUT GOD ALREADY KNOWS YOU ARE THANKFUL FOR THESE PEOPLE, HE KNOWS YOUR HEART, WHY DON’T YOU TALK TO GOD ABOUT YOUR MOUNTAINS, THE THINGS THAT BOTHER YOU, OR CAUSE YOU TO BE UPSET OR WORRY.”  I TOLD HER THAT PRAYING FOR PEOPLE IN ANY WAY WAS AMAZING AND I ENCOURAGED THAT, BUT TO HAVE MORE OF A CONVERSATION WITH GOD RATHER THAN A REHEARSED “NOW I LAY ME” PSALM.  SHE IS DOING AMAZING NOW AND SAID SHE SLEEPS LIKE A BABY.  GOD ALWAYS CALMS OUR HEARTS AFTER WE PRAY. 

1 JOHN 5:14-15


And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.


WHEN WE ARE PERSISTENT WITH OUR PRAYERS WE ARE CONTINUOUSLY COMING BACK TO GOD FOR ALL THE AREAS IN OUR LIFE WE NEED HELP OR BLESSINGS WITH.  WE CANNOT JUST COME TO GOD WITH PRAYERS AFTER WE HAVE EXHAUSTED ALL OUR OWN EFFORTS.  GOD CANNOT BE THE LAST RESORT, THE LAST STOP ON YOUR TRIP.  WE CANNOT COMPLETELY LOSE ALL THE AREAS OF CONTROL WITHIN OUR LIVES AND THEN SUDDENLY FALL ON OUR FACE AND EXPECT GOD TO START ANSWERING PRAYERS.  WE CAN HOWEVER EXHAUST ALL OUR EFFORTS AND COME CRAWLING TO GOD FOR FORGIVENESS.  ONCE WE BECOME A CHILD OF GODS, THEN OUR PRAYERS NEED TO BE CONSTANT, NOT JUST ABOUT OUR NEEDS, BUT ABOUT OUR PRAISES AS WELL.  GOD DOES EVERYTHING IN HIS TIMING, NO OUR OWN.  PRAYER IS NOT A WAY OF EXTORTING BLESSINGS FROM UNWILLING FINGERS.  GOD WANTS TO ANSWER AND GRANT YOUR PRAYER REQUEST, BUT HE WANTS YOU TO BE IN THE PERFECT PLACE PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY TO RECEIVE THEM.  HE WANTS YOU TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE BLESSING COULD ONLY COME FROM HIM AND WHEN YOU RECEIVE THE BLESSING FEEL THE URGE TO SHOUT IT FROM THE MOUNTAINTOPS! 



MATTHEW 21:21-22


Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”


PERSISTENT PRAYER IS A DEMONSTRATION OF FAITH IN GOD, WHO, WHILE AT TIMES MAY DELAY HIS ANSWERS, WILL ALWAYS ACT DECISIVELY & JUSTLY WITH RESPECT TO HIS PEOPLE!  IF YOU PRAY AND FEEL LIKE THE SKIES ARE NOT OPENING UP WITH A RAINBOW OF BLESSINGS BE PATIENT.  GOD HAS HEARD YOUR PRAYER SO THERE IS NO NEED TO REPEAT YOUR PRAYER OVER AND OVER UNTIL YOU SEE ACTION.  YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CONTINUE TO PRAY, BUT JUST KNOW THAT YOUR PRAYERS SHOULD BE DIFFERENT EACH TIME TO ALLOW GOD TO WORK IN MULTIPLE AREAS OF YOUR LIFE.  REMEMBER PRAYING TO GOD DOESN’T NEED TO JUST BE YOUR “HAIL MARY,” MAKE IT A CONSTANT PLAY IN YOUR LIFE.  FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DO NOT KNOW WHAT A HAIL MARY IS, IT IS THE LAST RESULT TO MAKE A TOUCHDOWN IN FOOTBALL WHEN THE QUARTERBACK LAUNCHES A BALL AS HIGH AND FAR AS HE CAN HOPING IT WILL BE CAUGHT IN THE END ZONE RESULTING IN A GAME WINNING TOUCHDOWN.  IT IS AFTER ALL SCHEDULED PLAYS HAVE BEEN EXHAUSTED AND ACTS AS A LAST RESORT OPPORTUNITY.



1 Thessalonians 5:17


Never stop praying.


REASONS WHY PERSISTENCE IS NEEDED:


1.      We may be praying about something and not being completely honest.  We must seek God openly and honestly with all our hearts.
2.      We may have selfish needs.  Selfish motivation halts our prayers.
3.      We may be unwilling to face the facts or the signs that God has already given us and he may want us to see the clear signs he has already provided, first!
4.      We may be on the wrong path that God has for our lives and He may have bigger plans that he is creating.
5.      We may be too independent, forgetting that God is the reason for everything.


Deuteronomy 8:17-18


He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.



FAITH WORKS TOWARDS WHAT IT ASKS FOR, WHILE IT WAITS!  WE HAVE TO MAKE AN EFFORT TO LIVE RIGHT AND TRUST IN GOD TO PROVIDE ALL OUR ANSWERED PRAYERS AND BLESSINGS.  IF YOU ASK GOD FOR SOMETHING BE WILLING TO GO OUT OF YOUR WAY FOR GOD’S WORD. 


IF YOU ASK FOR:


FAITH: THEN START LOVING OTHERS
JOY: START FILLING YOURSELF AND OTHERS UP POSITIVELY
FORGIVENESS: START LOVING YOUR ENEMIES
JOB: START PREPARING YOURSELF FOR THE POSITION YOU WANT, SEE YOURSELF THERE
HEALTH: GET OFF THE COUCH AND EXERCISE (IF YOU CAN!)
PATIENCE: 1ST GET READY TO BE TESTED BY FAITH AND 2ND HOLD ON!



Remember when you are praying for a major blessing and you see no instant gratification, the walls of Jericho didn’t automatically fall down.  It had to be circled 13 times and then shouted down with faith.  Sometimes we need to take the same approach and boost our faith to new levels to show God we are ready and willing to take on new challenges. 
SHOUT THE FAITH!! 


OUR FAITH IS GROWING EVERY SINGLE TIME WE YIELD TO GOD IN PRAYER.  BE A PALM TREE THAT IS ABLE TO WITHSTAND THE GREATEST OF WIND WITHOUT EVER FALLING DOWN AND REGAINING MORE STRENGTH WITH EVERY SINGLE SWAY.


GOD BLESS,


KD


Blog: http://thedentedbucket.blogspot.com     


Email: dentedbucket@charter.net