"Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere" (Ephesians 6:18).
All human beings are born with an inborn virtue of persistence. For example, before infants start walking, it all starts with crawling until through persistence we all learn to walk. No child starts walking steadily but only by falling and standing up again, the child masters the trick. Yes, persistence enabled us all learn to walk.
Jesus met many people whom he was able to deliver because they were persistent. There was that bleeding woman he cured of an incurable condition because she refused to believe in the doctor's report. For she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment" (Mathew 9:21-22).
The there was the Canaanite woman. She met a wall of resistance once she showed up. "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly" (Mathew 15:21), she cried out to Jesus. At first Jesus played deaf. "Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us" (vv 23).
Against this initial discouragement this mother stood her ground. She persisted.
"The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said" ( vv 25). And then it got more interesting and quite humorous too. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs" ( vv 26).
This mother was not about to give up. “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table". ( vv 27). Jesus was moved by her tenacity and finally yielded. "Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment" ( vv 27 -28).
You too like this mother have been born with an inner fighting spirit. Like her, you might have met certain opposition but you should not give up just because someone has yelled “No” and the crowd is urging you to go away! Have the faith, like this woman, stand ground and do not be moved. Soon but not later God will come down and say, "Child, for your faith it is done"!
Prayer today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, with faith I come to you assured you have answered my prayer needs, to your glory, this I pray in Jesus’ name.
Related upcoming events
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06/05/2024 - 07/05/2024 All day“Do not confirm to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2)
Almost all cultivators are aware that if soils are used perpetually without rains but constantly under work they are deprived of all nutrients. So, though once productive, they lose all power to yield fresh crops as before. But so is our Christian life when we do not regularly feed our spirit life with the Word!
In our leading verse, the Apostle Paul is urging believers to “renew” their minds rather than make them stale, lest they end up losing all power to yield fruit. But how is this done? We renew our minds by constantly reading the Word of God, for there are always insights with God speaking to us afresh. Psalm 119:104-5 says, “I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” The Apostle Peter reminds us, “Like newborn babies hungry for milk, you should want the pure teaching that feeds your spirit. With it you can grow and be saved.” It is a beautiful illustration for any who have seen a hungry baby sucking the teats of a mother.
Renewing our minds is also by reading about the lives of people of faith who have walked before us and their created works. The Christian faith started in the first century after Jesus was crucified and resurrected from the dead. Now over two millenniums it has produced giants of faith who have shared their walk with God through inspired teachings that are a treasure to dig into. By scouring the writings of the great saints before us, listening to their recorded sermons, songs and preaching, which these days can be found on virtual medial channels like Yu tube, reading their biographies, our faith is renewed.
And then we also renew our faith through fellowship. When the Apostle Paul urges us, “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” ( Hebrews 10:25), he is reminding us that our faith cannot grow in isolation. During the Covid pandemic lockdown one bitter issue was denying Believers opportunity to meet fellow followers of Christ to share testimonies showing the work of God in their lives.
So today, if your faith is on a low keel, or you want it to flower, one thing you can’t help doing without is “renewing” your mind. The blessings to unfold are endless.
Prayer for today:Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, what a treasure we have of your rich Word to dig into always; books around us of faith to inspire us; and believers to share our faith- may we make use of these, this I pray in Jesus’ name.
