As I am sitting in my prayer room preparing to write today it has been a really rough week for me. Christian and I had a conversation this last weekend, the first conversation we have had since March. It is hard to hear and see just how far she has gone, but I know that God is faithful and this is not the end of the story so I will not give up hope.
I am reminded of a trip that Christian and I took to the RAMP in Hamilton Alabama back in 2015. I got us tickets to the Women’s Conference that year in March and it worked out that there was no one else that was able to go with us, so the two of us set off for the long drive and the long weekend with high hopes and high expectations of what God was going to do. He of course did not disappoint! We had an awesome time that weekend. There were many things that weekend that I can look at now and see God’s hand all over it, but there are two that I want to touch on briefly. First, was one of stories that Karen Wheaton shared that weekend about one of the guest speakers that and how when her daughter had been ill, she had fasted and prayed. She has fasted for quite some time and her husband began to get a little concerned, he asked her how long was she going to continue this fast and she answered him….UNTIL.
What is the enemy going to do with UNTIL?
Second, Karen talked about the power of praying UNTIL.
Luke 18 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Jesus Gives a Parable about Prayer
18 One day Jesus taught the apostles to keep praying and never stop or lose hope. He shared with them this illustration:
2 “In a certain town there was a civil judge, a thick-skinned and godless man who had no fear of others’ opinions. 3 And there was a poor widow in that town who kept pleading with the judge, ‘Grant me justice and protect me against my oppressor!’
4–5 “He ignored her pleas for quite some time, but she kept asking. Eventually he said to himself, ‘This widow keeps annoying me, demanding her rights, and I’m tired of listening to her. Even though I’m not a religious man and don’t care about the opinions of others, I’ll just get her off my back by answering her claims for justice and I’ll rule in her favor. Then she’ll leave me alone.’”
6 The Lord continued, “Did you hear what the ungodly judge said—that he would answer her persistent request? 7 Don’t you know that God, the true judge, will grant justice to all of his chosen ones who cry out to him night and day? He will pour out his Spirit upon them. He will not delay to answer you and give you what you ask for. 8 God will give swift justice to those who don’t give up. So be ever praying, ever expecting, just like the widow was with the judge. Yet when the Son of Man comes back, will he find this kind of persistent faithfulness in his people?”
Luke 11 NLT
5 Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ 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.
9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
I don’t know about you, but I was taught that if you keep asking it is lack of faith. I have been taught that if you keep knocking you are not trusting God. I made the decision about a decade ago in my life to be persistent in my petitions when I know that God has given me a promise or when I know that what I am asking lines up with His word. I come daily before Him…is today the day Lord? I expect that each time when I see my children, that it will be the day that I see they have stepped into the full call on their lives.
Shameless persistence. I want that to be what He says about me!
So, what do we do we do when we are waiting for His promises UNTIL?
