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Written by Lynne Hammond
For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.
Colossians 1:9 – 12
Do you know what the Israelites did when they got fed up with the oppression of Jabin?
They cried out to the Lord.
In other words, they began to pray.
“But, Lynne, I’ve already done that,” you may say. “I’ve prayed for my neighborhood. I’ve prayed for my city. I’ve prayed for my nations. I just didn’t see any results, so I got discouraged and quit.”
That happens to most all of us at one time or another. We’ve all been inspired to pray about some ungodly condition we’ve seen around us, but when things didn’t change right away, we started thinking our prayers weren’t doing any good.
What we need to do at times like that is follow the advice I once heard given by former President George W. Bush. When he was asked why certain changes hadn’t yet taken place in government, he said, “Be patient and let the system work.”
I realize he wasn’t talking about prayer when he said that, but it’s good prayer advice anyway. Be patient and let God’s system work.
Some prayer assignments require endurance. They have to be worked on a little every day for long periods of time. That’s why we must be “strengthened with all might: according to God’s glorious power unto all patience and longsuffering with joy.” Very often in prayer, we must just keep marching … marching … marching toward victory.
We can’t just have emotional outbursts of prayer in times of crisis. We must be constant and consistent, refusing to give up until the enemy is routed and righteousness prevails.
That’s what the Israelites did when they got sick and tired of Jabin. They did more than just cry out to God once or twice. They stayed with it until God raised up the leaders they needed. Then they assembled an army and fought until “the Lord routed Sisera” (Judges 4:14). They stayed on the offensive until victory was won.
Scripture Reading: Judges 4:11 – 16
Source: Devotions for the Praying Heart by Lynne Hammond.
Excerpt permission granted by Lynne Hammond Ministries