“Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.” (Heb. 13:3)
My prayers, most generally, could be considered sporadic, what those of centuries gone by used to call ejaculatory. Quick, intentionally directed at a specific cause, best thought of as being sent at the speed of lightning to the throne of mercy. Not contemplated at length beforehand, but instead immediate to the present need.
You have done this when you are speaking to someone about the Almighty, when you are witnessing to a lost soul, even while you are talking, your mind will say, “Lord, help this person to see your truths.”
When you hear of those being persecuted for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, your prayer is sent to the throne room of the Most High at the speed of light. “Father, give them a moment of peace.”
“Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.” (Psalm 57:5)
Some of you understand the following words, some may not. Some may think it is presumptuous to believe so, others would call it foolishness, but at times, not often, but sometimes I can hear the Holy Spirit actually speaking to me. As best as I can describe those moments, it is just a short sentence, just a few words, and I know for a fact that it was not my imagination, not of or from me.
“For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (Gal. 1:12)
I do not know if the Risen Savior sat in a physical form and spoke with Paul, I do not know if He sat in the tent of Moses while he penned the first five books of the Bible, and perhaps more, or if he simply heard His words. I know this of Moses though. “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. (Exodus 33:11a)
I just hear a few words, and only very rarely at that.
Although I could be mistaken, I do not believe that anyone alive today has an ongoing, continual conversation with the Almighty as we do with human beings, because 2nd Corinthians 5:7 stands as a truth. “For we walk by faith, not by sight:”
Faith is knowing that our prayers are heard, faith, if you can understand this truth, does not rest on all our prayers being answered. If every request that you made was answered as you would have them to be, you would not be serving the Sovereign Lord of all reality, but instead someone that serves you.
We pray in the knowledge that we are heard; we hope that He will answer in kind, but if He does not, or if He does not answer at all, that does not hinder our faith.
Ask yourself this question, if you do not receive that which you have prayed for, will you stop praying? Will your faith in the Most High be hindered if He remains silent in any, even all, of what you ask for? Job answered that question correctly.
“And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21)
Many of us will willingly admit that in our walk with the Lord some of our prayers have been foolish requests, some self-centered, some not thought out very well. All of our prayers are brought before a board of determination, so to speak, to our Intercessor, the Lord Jesus Christ. He determines the attitude of them, modifies them as needed, and presents then to our Father the desires of our heart.
I personally believe that every prayer that is answered in some way glorifies the Living God, and I also believe that our faith in regard to our prayers is not based on if we receive an answer, but in the knowledge that we are heard.
There is a comfort in these truths that only those who have been born again can fully understand.
