Is it worth it?

“Pray without ceasing” (I Thessalonians 5:17)

Is prayer worth it?  Does it really work?  If it’s so powerful, why do we have to wait so long to see the answers to it? You may be reading this blog and find yourself at a place where you’re about to give up on what you have been praying for.  You may be thinking that the wait is not worth it.  So, I want to encourage you with some answers to prayer we find in the bible.

I first think of the apostle Peter when he was imprisoned, and an angel came and led him out to freedom.  Meanwhile, at the home of Mary, mother of John, many believers had gathered to pray for Peter’s release.  While they were praying for Peter’s freedom, a free Peter was knocking at their door. (Acts 12:5-16).  

Then there was Daniel in the Old Testament who was in fervent prayer over the sins of his people (Daniel 9).  In the middle, of his prayer, he received a visit from Gabriel, who told him “As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you.  Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision.”  The vision was the future of Israel, the burden Daniel had been carrying to God in his prayer.

We also need to look at Ezra the priest’s prayer.  Israel was rebelling against God.  One of the ways they were revolting was that the men of Israel were marrying pagan women who belonged to the nations around them.  Yet, listen to Ezra 10:1-3….. “While Ezra was praying and confessing, a large group of Israelites gathered around him.  They too wept bitterly…….We have been unfaithful to our God by marring foreign women…..Let us now make a covenant with our God and send away these women,” the men vowed.   

And I am sure we are acutely aware of what happened in that upper room on the day of Pentecost. Acts 4:31 – “After they had prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”  What a visitor to have at their prayer meeting!

All these incidents have one thing in common.  The Lord showed up and answered their prayers “while or after they prayed.”  So yes, some prayers may take time to answer, but that doesn’t mean we should throw-up our arms and quit asking.  Imagine if Daniel, the apostles, Ezra and those early believers had given-up, given-in, or given-out.  They might have missed the answers they were seeking.

So yes, persistence in prayer is definitely worth it.  I want to encourage you to hang in there.  Don’t stop praying.  Don’t stop interceding.  And don’t give up.  You never know when someone like Peter, or Gabriel, or the Holy Spirit is going to show up with the answer to pray that you have been waiting for. 

                                                              Darlene