# 278 Persistent In Prayer

The Book of Genesis

Day 278

Ge 30:17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.  18 Leah said, "God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband." So she called his name Issachar.  19 Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son.  20 And Leah said, "God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons." So she called his name Zebulun.  21 Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.  22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.

The King James says God “harkened” to Leah, and in verse 22 He “harkened” to Rachel. In short He was attentive to their prayers to the point of answering them affirmatively. Why was He seemingly so quick to answer Leah’s prayers and so slow to answer Rachel’s prayers?  That’s an easy question! He is God! Father knows best, end of argument.  But there certainly is a lesson for all of us as it regards persistent prayer.

Rachel was persistent in her prayer life. She didn’t give up! Let us be persistent as well. I am going to make a suggestion here as you pray persistently. Instead of throwing your specific wishes and demands incessantly at God, back up a bit and ask Him instead for a good dose of the Holy Spirit for starters. Let me explain:

Remember the story Jesus told of the neighbor in need of some bread to put before a house guest? The neighbor initially said “No!” He eventually gave in however due to the neighbor’s persistence.  Jesus followed that story with a reminder that we, (who are imperfect fathers) still strive to give the best to our children. How much more then does our perfect heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?

What then is the best thing the Father can give us? (outside of our salvation of course) The answer is the Holy Spirit! God desires to give us His very best! That may or may not include the gift of children or any of the other thousands of things we ask for and yearn for.

But as we ponder this promised Gift of the Holy Spirit as a starting point, and consider the attributes he brings with Him such as teacher, comforter, intercessor, advocate,  etc,  we can say, “Yes God! Send us more of Thy Spirit! For with the Helper by my side and in me, I can cope! With Him I can receive a level of understanding, and with Him I know I am praying aright and within the will of God!

Ro 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Holy Spirit. Help me in my prayer life today, for in my flesh I pray weakly and often amiss.   Amen

The Groanings of the Spirit

I am home, recuperating from knee replacement surgery, and I want to continue to talk about intercessory prayer. Anyone who has had any kind of surgery knows that the spirit is willing to pray but the flesh is just too tired, too hurting, or sometimes (thanks to pain medication) too much out of it to pray! Last time I talked about the Universal Pain-Assessment Tool that hospitals and doctors use to ascertain your level of pain. This assessment is useful in providing guidance for pain medication doses. A 0 on the chart is no pain, and 10 is unbearable. When you get to #5 on the scale, your pain causes you to be unable to do some activities. It's right about there that the Holy Spirit kicks in with the groanings and utterings mentioned in Rom 8:26, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Perhaps you have seen an old western movie where the hero is in a mine and and things start shaking loose and the timbers start to creek and groan. A ship's timbers will do the same thing in stressful seas, always reacting to the stress in such a way as to keep things from falling apart. They take the stress upon themselves in order to prevent a cave in, or a ship that would bust apart at the seams! This is what the Holy Spirit does for you in your stressful situation. You find yourself in such agony or dire straits that you cannot even find the words or the spirit to pray. And the Spirit comes and wells up inside you and makes perfect intercession for your hour of trial. He did it for Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and He will do it for you as you lay in your hospital bed at level 5 or worse of the Pain Assessment Chart! Here's the thing about the groanings of the Holy Spirit. They won't fail! In the movies the mine almost always caves in, but God hasn't lost one yet. Don't bolt. Hang in there. Endure! This trial is only meant to accomplish something in you for your own good. And when the dust settles, you'll be able to say with Paul in Rom 8:28, “All things (even this trial) work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose.”