Prayer Problems: Power - 4 Do I Give Up Too Easy?

Focus passage: 1 Kings 18:41-46

I prayed for family night and none of the people I had invited came. I sat by a friend in the hospital who we had been praying about for weeks, but he only seemed to get worse. 

I began to wonder if it was not God’s will that our outreach would have success or that Jack was going to get better. How many times should I pray? How many times do I keep saying the same words toward heaven without getting the results that I so desperately want? Elijah doesn’t let go. He kept on praying even though there had not been a drop of water in three and a half years.

• When he prayed, he was expecting and not just hoping. He expected the Lord to keep His word. Revival had come as God had shown Himself on the mountain. He had promised Ahab that rain was coming in fulfillment of a promise that God had made to him (1 Kings 17:1). It doesn’t matter that he is disappointed six times. As I sit next to Jack’s bed, am I really expecting healing? As I plan for evangelism, am I willing to plan and pray as many times as it takes because I know God wants everyone to be reached?

• When he prayed, he would not take “no” for an answer. The people of Israel have seen that God is the true God and not Baal. God is the god of fertility and rain. God has shown His power on the mountain and now is expected to show His power again by ending the drought. If the rain doesn’t come, the people will doubt God again. The prophet is on his knees praying with all his might because this is about the salvation of the people. How long will I pray for revival? Do I pray as if people’s souls really matter? Am I praying so hard and won’t take “no” for an answer because people’s souls are at stake?

• When he prayed, he prayed based on the promises of God. God had told Elijah that the rain would stop and it had. God had told Elijah that the rain would come again and Elijah believed with all his heart that the time for rain was now. His persistence was based on God’s promises. On the mountain the answer to prayer had come instantly. Here, he prays six times with no response yet he keeps on praying. He was going to continue to pray until the Lord sent an answer.

A powerful prayer does not let go. So why do I quit so easily? Lord forgive me for the times when I prayed two or three times and figured that it was not your will. I know that you want everyone to be saved. I know that you will be present when we are ill or struggling. I need to pray your promises and not my programs or needs. I need to keep praying so that you might teach me your will and change my world. Like Elijah, let me get down on my hands and knees bowing before your will and praying that your will be done in my life. I give up too easy. If my prayers are to be powerful, I need to not give up on you, but hold on till miracles happen.

How often do you pray before you are ready to call it quits or believe that a miracle is not coming? Comment about the blog below or send me your thoughts at www.32daysdevotions@gmail.com. Tomorrow on the blog, I want to talk about how you get started on confident prayer if you have not prayed often before.