This past week I was reminded of the faithfulness of God. My husband and I had been praying for a breakthrough in an area of our lives for over a year. And during that season, there were so many times that we felt hopeless…so many times that we wondered if God heard our prayers…if He saw us. Honestly, we felt alone in our situation. We were obedient to God. We did what He told us to do, and where did that leave us? With nothing. This might sound a bit dramatic. But this is honestly how we felt, at times. We went through cycles of great faith, and disappointment. We did what we could to encourage our faith, but the facts of our situation took a toll on us. And I’m reminded that this is how it feels to walk by faith.
Let’s take a moment to talk about this. Because walking by faith seems so hopeful, until it’s not. It feels exhilarating…so exciting, until life hits, and you realize that your reality isn’t what you’ve been believing for. Walking by faith doesn’t have to be as pretty as we want it to be. As a matter of fact, it will not be. But that’s okay. Our great God isn’t afraid of our disappointment. In fact, He wants us to bring it to Him, because in His presence we’ll find new strength…we’ll find the power to keep on going…to keep on praying…to keep on believing.
“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. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8 NLT)
If we want to receive the promises of God, we have to persist in prayer.
Even when we don’t see anything, we must pray. Even when it feels like life is taking us in the opposite direction, we must pray. We must continue to seek God. We must continue to ask. We must continue to believe that we’ll receive what we’re praying for. Our prayers matter. Our prayers make the difference.
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops. (James 5:16-18 NLT)
God has empowered each of us to call forth His will into the earth. This is what happen through Elijah. Elijah was not a man that prayed for his will to be done. He prayed only those things spoken to Him through His father, and this is why his earnest prayers brought forth results.
Later on, in the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain!” (1 Kings 18:1 NLT)
God gave the word, but Elijah was responsible for praying that word down from heaven.
So Ahab went to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees. Then he said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea.” The servant went and looked, then returned to Elijah and said, “I didn’t see anything.” Seven times Elijah told him to go and look. Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.” Then Elijah shouted, “Hurry to Ahab and tell him, ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!’” (1 Kings 18:42-44 NLT)
If we want to see the will of God, if we want to see every promise that He’s given us, we must pray for it. We must do our part, and use the power that He’s put in our hands…through His Spirit.
“And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.” (Luke 24:49 NLT)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts of the Apostles 1:8 NLT)
The power of the Holy Spirit makes our prayers effective.
This is so vital for us to understand. Because many times, we stop praying when nothing seems to be happening. But we have to know that a delay in response does not mean a no from God. We have to know that regardless of what we see, when we pray, heaven is moving. We’ll never know how, or to what extent. But we can be confident that God is working the situation in our favor. Maybe he’s working in the hearts of others to open doors on our behalf. Maybe He’s working in our bodies, healing us from the inside out. Or maybe He’s working in our hearts and minds, transforming us, and preparing us for what we’re praying for. God is never doing nothing. He is always doing something.
Our prayers activate heaven on our behalf.
Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 18:18 ESV)
This is such a powerful scripture…it is essentially saying that heaven responds to our commands. Whatever we bind (tie up or forbid) on earth, will be bound (tied up or forbidden) in heaven. This means that our breakthrough might be in our own hands. This means that your victory might be up to you. Just think about that for a second. What have you been praying for? What have you been believe for God to remove from your life? Is it anxiety and depression? Is it a sickness or disease? Is it a generational curse, mindset, or cycle? Whatever it is, God has given you the power to cast it out of your life. He has given you the power to defeat that thing through your prayers. You have the power of the Spirit of God living in your body…use your power.
Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. (Luke 10:19 NLT)
But it doesn’t stop there. God has also given us the authority to loose (allow or permit) his promises into our lives. He has put our receiving of His will, favor, and blessings in our hands. When we loose the will of God into the earth, heaven reacts. We can see glimpse of this response in the book of Daniel.
Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia. Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come.” (Daniel 10:12-14 NLT)
The angel told Daniel that since the first day he prayed, his request was heard in heaven, but the answer to his prayer was delayed for 21 days. How do you think Daniel felt during that time? Probably like you and me. He probably wondered if God heard him. He probably wondered if God would ever answer his prayers. Daniel had no idea that God sent the answer the very day that he prayed. And this is what I want all of us to understand.
The fact that we see nothing doesn’t mean God’s doing nothing.
For the eyes of the Lord are [looking favorably] upon the righteous (the upright), And His ears are attentive to their prayer (eager to answer), But the face of the Lord is against those who practice evil.” (1 Peter 3:12 AMP)
Our God watches over us, He hears our prayers, and He’s eager to send an answer. So, in the moments when we see nothing, we must remind ourselves that God is always doing something. He’s working the situation out for our good, according to the plan that He has for our lives. But we must not forget that there is always resistance to the will of God. Each time we pray the will of God over our lives, there’s an enemy that would love nothing more than to get in the way. So, we must be persistent. We must keep on praying, keep on seeking, keep on knocking…because the power to win the battle is in our hands.
What battle are you trying to win in your life right now? Maybe you’ve been praying for a breakthrough. If so, I want to encourage you to keep on praying. I want to encourage you to keep on believing…continue to walk in faith. I know how difficult it may be. But, you can rest in the promises of God. You can rest in the fact that His word says that He sees you. He hears you. He’s eager to answer you. He wants nothing more than for His plan to come to pass in your life. But you must do your part. You must use the power that He’s given you. And then, you must trust Him to take care of the rest.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for giving me power through your Spirit. Thank you for enabling me to bind the strongholds in my life. And thank you for enabling me to loose your will, favor, and blessing into my life. Today, I have been reminded of how much my prayers matter. Today I have been reminded that my prayers have the ability to change my life. So today, I am making the decision to use the power that I have. I am making the decision to use my voice to bring heaven down to earth. And I trust that as I pray according to your will, that you will bring it to pass in my life. I love you Father. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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