The Power of Persevering Prayer
Persevering prayer is essential to overcome the practical difficulty of believing prayer and to experience the irresistible power of faith in God's word and will.
Andrew Murray emphasizes the significance of persevering prayer, illustrating that God's willingness to bless often requires persistent requests over time. He acknowledges the struggle believers face when prayers seem unanswered, urging them to maintain faith and trust in God's timing. Murray likens prayer to the accumulation of water or the sowing of seeds, where consistent effort leads to eventual blessings. He reassures that every believing prayer has an effect in heaven and contributes to the fulfillment of God's promises. Ultimately, he encourages believers to emulate Abraham's faith and patience in their prayer lives.
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Of all the mysteries of the prayer world the need of persevering prayer is one of the greatest. That the Lord, who is so loving and longing to bless, should have to be asked, time after time, sometimes year after year, before the answer comes, we cannot easily understand. It is also one of the greatest practical difficulties in the exercise of believing prayer. When, after persevering pleading, our prayer remains unanswered, it is often easiest for our lazy flesh, and it has all the appearance of pious submission, to think that we must now cease praying, because God may have His secret reason for withholding His answer to our request.
It is by faith alone that the difficulty is overcome. When once faith has taken its stand on God's word and the Name of Jesus, and has yielded itself to the leading of the Spirit to seek God's will and honor alone in its prayer, it need not be discouraged by delay. It knows from Scripture that the power of believing prayer is simply irresistible; real faith can never be disappointed. It knows that just as water, to exercise the irresistible power it can have, must be gathered up and accumulated until the stream can come down in full force, so there must often be a heaping up of prayer until God sees that the measure is full, when the answer comes.
It knows that just as the peasant farmer has to take his ten thousand steps to sow his tens of thousands seeds, each one a part of the preparation for the final harvest, so there is a need for often repeated persevering prayer, all working out some desired blessing. It knows for certain that not a single believing prayer can fail of its effect in heaven, but has its influence, and is treasured up to work out an answer in due time to him who perseveres to the end. It knows that it has to do, not with human thoughts or possibilities, but with the word of the living God. And so, even as Abraham through so many years "who against hope believed in hope" (Romans 4:18), and then "followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises." (Hebrews 6:12)
Sermon Outline
- The Need of Persevering Prayer
- Overcoming the Difficulty by Faith
- The Power of Persevering Prayer
- The Importance of Perseverance
- The Influence of Prayer on Heaven
- The Timing of God's Answer
Key Quotes
“It knows from Scripture that the power of believing prayer is simply irresistible; real faith can never be disappointed.” — Andrew Murray
“It knows that just as water, to exercise the irresistible power it can have, must be gathered up and accumulated until the stream can come down in full force, so there must often be a heaping up of prayer until God sees that the measure is full, when the answer comes.” — Andrew Murray
“It knows that not a single believing prayer can fail of its effect in heaven, but has its influence, and is treasured up to work out an answer in due time to him who perseveres to the end.” — Andrew Murray
Application Points
- We should continue to pray persistently, even when our prayers seem to go unanswered, because faith can never be disappointed.
- Persevering prayer demonstrates our commitment to seeking God's will and honor alone in our prayer.
- We should not be discouraged by delay, but rather trust in the effectiveness of believing prayer to work out an answer in due time.