never stop praying
NEVER STOP PRAYING
In his best selling book “Good to Great”, author, Jim Collins, writes about a conversation he had with Vice Admiral James Stockdale who survived seven and half years as a prisoner of war in a North Vietnamese prison. When Jim Collins asked the Admiral how he had coped during those tempestuous years, he said:
“I never lost faith in the end of the story, I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade”
When Collins asked who didn't make it out of Vietnam, Stockdale replied:
Oh, that's easy, the optimists. Oh, they were the ones who said, “We're going to be out by Christmas.” And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they'd say, “We're going to be out by Easter.” And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart.
Stockdale then added:
This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.
This, my friends, is where we are going to camp today.
Have you ever prayed and just the opposite happened. Maybe you prayed for a promotion at your workplace and got fired instead, or you prayed that you would conceive and were told by the doctor that for the safety of your health you would have to have a hysterectomy, or you prayed for a spouse but it’s been ten years and counting and still no one in sight, maybe you prayed that your coworker would be saved and come to know Jesus intimately but they have become more monstrous and you wonder if all your prayer is doing is making matters even worse, maybe you prayed that a friend or family member of yours would be healed but they left earth without so much as a goodbye.
Maybe yours is none of the scenarios above, feel free nonetheless to substitute the above with your current situation.
Going back to what Admiral Stockdale mentioned, which was, confronting the brutal facts that laid before him, yet, resolving that he would prevail in the end.
The brutal fact might be the above scenarios mentioned i.e. the sickness, losing your job, or your loved one … Still, the truth is that our God neither slumbers or sleeps, He is watching over you. The truth is that even in the wilderness, God still makes a way. The truth is that He cares for you affectionately and watchfully. The truth is that He will never leave you nor forsake you. Therefore, we must never ever give up praying to the God who hears and answers. Please know that God is not intimidated by your questions of “how long?” or “why?” He is not offended by your frustrations, He knows, He understands, friend, He gets it, He truly gets you.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin. - Hebrews 4:15
Jesus in John 16:33 said
...in the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world
Jesus never promised a trouble free life, if we’ve lived in this world for two seconds, we’ll know that stuff can get really hard. But friend, because of Jesus, you don’t have to go through any of it alone. If Jesus has overcome the world (and he has) you will prevail in the end. Don’t lose faith.
So we must not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not give up. - Galatians 6:9
Now, the outcome of the situation may look nothing like the painting you have in your mind. This is why you and I must release the final analysis as well as the timing of the circumstance, to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ whose loving kindness endures forever.
Remember that His plans are not like your plans, and his deeds are not like your deeds and just as the sky is higher than the earth, so God’s deeds are superior to your deeds and his plans superior to your plans (see Isaiah 55:8-9)
Maybe right now you’re saying “I can’t even mutter a word to God, tears are all I’ve got” Then, you would be in great company because, king David in Psalm 6:6 expressed his prayers through tears:
“I am exhausted as I groan. All night long I drench my bed in tears; my tears saturate the cushion beneath me”
Then he adds in Psalm 6:9,
“The LORD has heard my appeal for mercy; the LORD has accepted my prayer.”
You would also be in the company of king Hezekiah who turned his face to the wall and wept bitterly (see 2 Kings 20:2) after receiving the difficult prognosis of his illness.
And in 1 Samuel 1:10 we see the vulnerable tears of Hannah.
She was very upset as she prayed to the LORD, and she was weeping uncontrollably.
So friend, go ahead and cry out to God. Take all of your doubts, your frustrations, your anger, and your pain to Him. He heard the cry of king David, He heard king Hezekiah’s bitter weeping, He looked upon Hannah and saw her many tears. He has heard yours and He has not forgotten you. He is with you and for you. Don’t lose faith in the end of the story; whatever you do, never ever stop praying!
“How shall I pray?
Are tears prayers, Lord?
Are screams prayers,
or groans
or sighs
or curses?
Can trembling hands be lifted to you?
or clenched fists
or the cold sweat that trickles down my back
or the cramps that knot my stomach?
Will you accept my prayers, Lord?
my real prayers,
rooted in the muck and mud and rock of my life,
and not just the pretty, cut-flower, gracefully arranged
bouquet of words?
Will you accept me, Lord?
as I really am,
messed up mixture of glory and grime?”
(A Prayer from “Guerrillas of Grace” by Ted Loder)
~ Odion ~